Nami's Wings
by ShatteredHeart98
Summary: Nami is a new Haibane, a girl with a terror of water and stroke of bad luck. After an almost failed birth, she struggles with the new world, facing unknown emotions and sicknesess as she tries to find the path all Haibane must seek inside.
1. The Dying Cocoon

**Nami's Wings**

**Chapter One**

**The Dying Cocoon**

Cold. I was so cold. Water flowed around me, swallowing me up until I couldn't breathe. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry. My tears were lost in the torrents and I could do nothing but wait to drown.

Then the water lifted from beneath me. I was left lying on the sand, heavy and tired. I could breathe again, but another cold wave of water descended upon me. I choked again, struggling to find the way up.

Pulsing and shuddering, the water left me once more to struggle. I managed to lift my weary head stared up at a rising wall of sea. The wave seemed to wait for me to try and stand upright, and then it swept me off of my feet again. I shouted out in the depths, taking in great mouthfuls.

_Am I going to die?_

I was still floating, lying face down in the water… but it felt different. It was warm, inviting, calming…

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

I was surrounded by spherical walls, each a livid green, as though I were inside of a pea. The shock of the sudden scenery change hit me and I panicked, my eyes darting around and searching for a way out. I realised then that I could breathe, but it only made me more surprised.

"Can you hear me in there?"

A voice? From outside?

I swam towards the sound and pressed an ear to one of the walls. There was more than one voice now, each muttering to each other. They sounded concerned, and they should be. What was going to happen to me in here?

I knocked on the wall, but my hands were weak and I barely made a sound. I tried again, but I still lacked the energy to make my answer. Despair wreaked havoc inside of me as I grew more and more fearful until I gave up and sank to the bottom of the giant pea that was my cage.

*****

"She won't die in there will she, Reki?"

The motherly woman turned to Kuu, the youngest of the girls in the room, and smiled. "We won't let that happen."

"What makes you think it's a girl?" another asked, her dark brown eyes staring at Kuu as she leaned casually against the pod.

Kuu crossed her arms. "Almost all of the Haibane born in this house have been females. What are the chances that this will be a boy, Kana?"

Kana shrugged and prodded a finger against the surface of the pod. "Either way, they need to get out of there. How many days has it been full grown now?"

Reki heaved a great sigh and leaned back against a bare table, holding her head up to stare at the ceiling. "Three days. I have never had to wait so long before for a birth."

Concern crossed the faces of the two girls as they looked at each other nervously. If Reki, whom had the most experience with the births hadn't had to wait this long before, than there was definitely something that wasn't right about this Haibane.

"They'll be okay."

All eyes turned to the latest Haibane, Rakka, a thin, messy brown haired girl with a bright smile almost always on her face. "They probably just need more time to work out how to claw their way outside to us. Give them some more time, and they'll come when they're ready."

Kana rolled her eyes. "Come on, Rakka. It's been three days. _Three days! _You'd think they would have worked it out by now."

"Maybe they're scared," Rakka suggested, remembering her own time in the cocoon, floating in the pod and listening to the unknown voices outside without any idea of what awaited her. She had taken her time as well, but they had a point… she had been in there for a long time.

"Maybe Nemu was right. Maybe we should contact the Communicator and ask him to come down and take a look," Reki said, settling herself on the table and staring at the cocoon. "It wouldn't really do any harm…"

"Yeah, apart from the fact that he creeps me out!" Kana muttered. "Sure, he's all friendly to Rakka and even you now, Reki, but he always stares at me and won't permit me to talk!"

"So he annoys you rather than scares you because he doesn't want to put up with your constant talk like we do," Reki said, pressing a thumb to her chin as though she had worked out a hard maths sum.

Kana poked her tongue out and fell silent, listening intently at the side of the cocoon again.

Another shadow appeared in the doorway, this time the eldest Haibane of the group appearing. "How is the cocoon today?" she asked with a wide yawn.

Rakka smiled a greeting to her friend. "I was wondering when you would wake up, Nemu. You sure were up late last night."

Nemu nodded. "Well I had to keep an eye on our newest member here. After all, it's been…"

"Three days. We know," Kana finished with slight annoyance. It seemed the fear was getting to her. She rarely left the side of the cocoon after all, showing a sisterly side that she didn't often reveal to the others. They assumed it was merely her way of growing up.

"Let's not get ourselves worked up about this," Reki said to everyone in the room, though her gaze lingered on Kana. "If it dies, which we all hope it won't, than there is nothing we can do. Sometimes the births fail and the person inside doesn't make it out in time."

"How long does it take until it's too late?" Rakka asked anxiously.

Reki sighed. "About three days."

Everyone fell silent at her words.

_Later_

"Dinner's ready, everyone!"

The girls gathered themselves from the floor in the cocoon room and left it in the darkness. They reached the kitchen in low spirits as every mind was on the possibly dying Haibane. No one spoke as they trudged past the cook and took their seats.

"It's the cocoon, isn't it?"

Reki raised her head to the final member of the Haibane's of Old Home and ignored the question. "You should have asked one of us to help you cook, Hikari. It isn't fair that you take on all of the meals by yourself."

Hikari, a blonde, pony tailed girl smiled, her eyes glistening from behind her glasses. "I don't mind that you all want to watch the cocoon, and I don't want to interrupt."

"Still…"

"Don't worry about me, okay? Just eat up and enjoy!"

Though Hikari was a good cook, none of the Haibane felt much like eating. They all shovelled the food down without even paying attention to the taste, then departed to the cocoon room one by one until only Reki and Hikari remained.

With a tired sigh, Hikari leaned back in her chair and gave a tiny yawn.

Reki noted this immediately. "Hikari, go to bed. You look exhausted."

She shook her head stubbornly. "Don't even think about it. I don't want to miss another birth!"

"As soon as anything happens, trust me, you'll hear Kana screaming," Reki pointed out, lighting a cigarette and smoking thoughtlessly in the kitchen.

Hikari stared at her in disgust. "Do you have to do that around food?" she asked as innocently as she could manage.

"Sorry," Reki mumbled, but she didn't stop. She wasn't even paying attention. She was busy thinking about the birth of her fellow friends in the house, and especially Rakka's. It had taken her some time, but not as long as this. The cocoon which was in her art studio, was fully grown, and still it waited for its occupant to find its way out.

"It's dying, isn't it?"

Reki glanced at Hikari, surprised to see the strong willed girl in tears, sniffling and turning away shyly. Reki's instincts brought her to her friend's side where she gripped her shoulders and hugged her gently from behind.

"I won't let it die," she said to her gently. "I'll stay by its side and talk to it, begging it to find its way out. I'll do everything I can."

"W-what if y-you can't save it?" Hikari asked, trying to steady her shaking voice.

Reki shook her head. "Don't say that. I got all of you out okay, didn't I?"

The blonde haired girl couldn't deny that and started to calm down. Reki left her to her thoughts and headed up to the studio again. Once she had reached the room, she stood in the doorway and stared at the cocoon as her friends surrounded it and listened at its sides. It was so pale, and the surface was dry unlike the moist soft texture it was supposed to have. The roots that protruded from the ceiling and ground were like bark now, sticking out stiffly.

The cocoon already looked dead.

Night time came and the entire house was bathed in ink from the pitch black sky. Hikari had taken Reki's advice and retired to her bed for the night after she had chained her emotions again after dinner. Nemu had almost fallen asleep in the cocoon room and left with an equally drowsy Kuu at her heels. Rakka, Reki, and Kana remained, staring at the cocoon and jumping at every sound it made, but now it lay silent as though it too were sleeping.

Kana's eye lids were growing heavy as she pressed her head against the pod and waited as she had been for the past three days. She didn't move for anything at all unless it was food or a toilet break. She had told her master that she couldn't work because of the new cocoon, as had Rakka and Kuu, but Nemu and Hikari had not been able to get away with free time, and the housemother wanted Reki to distract herself with the children.

The rest of the hours of the day everyone spent looking at the cocoon and waiting expectantly for the newest member to show themselves.

"Kana?"

With a jerk, the tomboy awakened to the world again and glanced over at Reki. "Yeah?"

"You're too tired to last the night in here. Go to bed before you damage your back sitting like that."

Kana shook her head, being almost as stubborn as Hikari. "I want to… be here… for… when…" She fell asleep before she could finish, much to Rakka's quiet amusement.

Reki stood from a wooden chair she had brought with her and lifted a light Kana into her arms. "Call me if anything changes," she said to Rakka as she carried Kana out to take her to her bed.

Rakka, being left in charge, knew that she had to try her best for Reki. She sat up straight, slapped herself in the face to stay awake, stared right at the cocoon… and fell asleep as her exhaustion caught up with her.

Inside of the cocoon, things were even less lively.

I floated in a curled up ball, trying to forget about everything: this cage, the dream, and my swirling emotions that never ceased or slowed. I wanted to be free more than anything, but whenever I tried, my efforts were in vein. All I could do was wait for someone to find me and free me. I could hear them when they spoke, those outside of this pea pod. Maybe my growing fear of them was what kept me here. I wasn't sure if I wanted them to come to my aid. After all, they could be anyone. Maybe they were the ones who put me in here.

I wasn't really sure of anything, but I knew one thing. I was getting weaker by the minute. At first I thought it was the emotional stress, but the draining energy came so fast that it felt as though I were ill. My head was spinning and I could barely keep my eyes open.

What was happening to me?

I let another minute pass in silence, and I couldn't bare it, being alone in this unknown place. It felt like my mind and body were both breaking down. I couldn't connect a single though, and all of my muscles and joints were growing weary, each a separate numbness.

_It can't end like this, _I thought, making a decision then and there. _I have to get out of here before I can't move at all._

With the little strength I still had, I pushed myself forward through the water. I kicked my legs feebly, letting my weakening body flow through the water painfully slow. I clenched my teeth and reached as far as I could until pain ached in my arm, recognisable even through the disappearing sensation in the limb.

I did it. I touched the wall, my fingertip denting the mushy sides and leaving a mark. I would have smiled if I had any strength left to do so. My eyesight was clouding and everything was disappearing before me, turning into black.

_I just have to reach a little more… a little more…_

I gave a final grasp with my hand, my fingers clawing out and ripping away a deep layer of the cocoon. It fell away, floating beneath me as everything finally became nothing more to me and I fell steadily into the darkness… only to slide out into the light.

Rakka, dozing on the spot, wiped away at a drop of water that had pattered against her face. She opened one eye lazily to see why it was raining in the art studio… and gasped at the sight of the cocoon splitting from a deep crack in the side.

"Oh my…"

Water gushed into the room and engulfed her, swallowing her words. She twisted and turned under the torrent, trying to reach for the air again, but something was pressing against her. She tried to push the object away, blinded from the sight by the thick liquid, but it was too heavy to budge.

A pair of arms came to her rescue, tightening around her waist and dragging her out of the water. She was pulled away and sat down on the ground roughly as her saviour, Reki, ran back into the flowing water and bent down over a pale form.

"The Haibane!" Rakka gasped out, running over to Reki as she leaned down into the knee deep watery fluid.

It was a girl, lying naked in the mess with her eyes closed and her body thin and frail. Reki gently pulled her into her arms, flipping her onto her back and stared down at her face. She looked horrified.

"What is it Reki?" Rakka asked fearfully. "Is she okay?"

Reki didn't answer the question. She lifted the girl up in her arms and hurried to the door wordlessly only to have it open in her face with Nemu, Kana, Kuu, and Hikari staring wide eyed at the newest Haibane.

"She's so white," Kuu noted, standing on her toes to peer at the girl's face.

"Move!" Reki demanded without responding, and Nemu swept the girls aside in an instant before following Reki down the hall quickly.

"What's wrong?" Kana asked, her voice naturally loud when she needed to be heard in a house of noise.

Reki didn't answer straight away, but as she continued to be pestered by the girls she finally replied with words that turned their blood to ice.

"She's not breathing."

In the shock, Hikari stopped dead in the hall and stared after Reki as she disappeared around the corner with a stunned Kuu and Nemu still in her shadow. Kana grimaced and stared at the floor as tears welled in her eyes.

"H-how c-could this happen?" Hikari stuttered, shaking on the spot.

Rakka grasped Kana's and Hikari's hands and pulled them both down towards the main room where Reki had headed. "It's not over!" she growled. "Reki will save her! I know she will!"

Although she sounded confident, Rakka was doubting the fact. She bit her lip and hoped that her gut mind was wrong as it told her again and again that the life of the Haibane was already over.

In the main room, Reki laid the girl down on the bed and left briefly to gather an armful of towels as Nemu felt for a pulse in the Haibane's neck. She almost collapsed in relief as she felt a weak but evident beat and shouted the news to Reki as she ran back into the room with five towels hanging from her arms.

Reki felt the relief wash over her and threw the towels over the girl. _So not all hope is lost, _she thought, tucking the Haibane in as Kuu hung anxiously at the end of the bed.

"Is she going to make it?" she asked worriedly, staring at the pale and motionless girl before her.

Reki didn't know how to answer the young girl. She bent over the Haibane and rested an ear against her chest to make sure her heart still beat as minutes passed. She could hear it a little, but not well enough to keep her calm any longer. She knew that she wasn't breathing, and unless she started, all was lost.

Rakka burst into the room with Kana and Hikari struggling to keep up.

"Is she okay?" Kana demanded, gathering herself and rushing over to the side of her bed to stand beside a paled Nemu.

Reki sat beside the girl on the bed with her head on her lap. She was almost weeping, a shocking sight.

"Well?" Kana demanded, trying to see any signs of life on the new girl.

"She's not breathing," Reki finally answered, her voice deadly quiet. "There isn't anything I can do but wait."

"What do you mean you can't do anything?" Kana asked. "Isn't there a doctor in this town?"

"It won't work. She needs to breathe on her own…" Reki answered, hopelessness appearing in her dark eyes. "Haibane's need to go through the process of awakening completely on their own, and she hasn't awakened yet."

"That's stupid!" Kana roared.

Reki took in a shuddering breath and slapped the girl hard in the face. "Breathe! Damn it!" she growled. "Please, don't let it end before its begun…"

As though answering the calls, the Haibane gave a small cough that caught everyone's attention, then she gave a great heave and coughed up a mouthful of water that coated her. Reki sat her up properly and beat her on the back as she spewed out the fluid of the pod onto the bed.

In gleeful delight, Rakka punched a fist into the air and caught Kuu in a tight embrace as the young girl threw herself at her. Kana wiped away her tears furiously as though ashamed, and helped to cover the girl up with the fallen towels.

"Thank goodness," Nemu gasped, letting Hikari place an arm over her shoulders and beam at the girl as she snuggled into the towels.

"Welcome to the world," Reki said to her softly, wiping some loose threads of hair out of her face to find the girl had passed out. Her hands clung tightly to the warmth she had received, looking painfully fragile, but she was alive. She had made it.

Bidding the others leave so the new Haibane would not panic when she woke, Reki found herself immediately examining the girl's back to make sure the wings had not come out in the cocoon. She was quiet surprised to find that they had not, however the tips were spiking through the skin, coated in blood. It wouldn't be long, and she only hoped that the girl could remain unconscious during the next frightening ordeal.

Seeing that there was no urgent matter to take care of, Reki took the time to concentrate on the rest of the girl's features. Her hair was thick and short, standing out at all angles. It was almost completely dry by this point, and she saw that it was a light copper colour that seemed almost like a dying fire with her pale complexion. She was also very thin, almost bony, but Hikari would change all of that with her unrefusable meals.

In her sleep, the Haibane clawed her hands and shuddered. She was dreaming of the frightening world she had been in for the three days she floated dormant, and Reki wanted nothing more than to comfort her.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of you. We'll all be standing right beside you until you can walk on your own, so don't fear."


	2. Awakening

**Chapter Two**

**Awakening**

I had heard a voice in my sleep, kind and inviting. Though I did not understand the words in my slumber, it was like a lullaby and calmed me and pulled me deeper into rest, but I fell part of the way and was lost in the depths.

I knew that something was wrong with me. I felt hot all of the time, becoming partly conscious again before heavy fatigue dragged me back. Nightmares raged through my mind, each ending with the wave that pressed me against the sandy depths until I lost all of my breath. Sometimes the voice would return, but my mind would distort it and give me night terrors. I could feel my arms thrashing around, but I was too weak to fight of the constant fear and aching pains.

I was sick.

Reki caught the new Haibane's arm as she jerked and thumped her arms against the mattress continuously. The girl was reliving the nightmare over and over again, a usual thing when one had just made it out of the cocoon, but she had a fever, and that was definitely not a given effect.

The time in the cocoon that she had spent slowly dying had not left her unscathed it seemed. She was suffering inside and out, and all the woman could do was stay at her side and stop her from hurting herself in her fits of terror.

It was the morning after the new girl had been born, and Reki had not slept at all that night. The other girls tried to stay up with her, but she sent them to bed as they had work the next day. She was the only one who would be with the girl for that time, and the House Mother had said that it was fine, somewhat reluctantly.

Reki knew that the old woman wouldn't be able to hold back her wrath for long. She could already hear the children downstairs screaming up a storm as they faced plates of vegetables for lunch. A small smile crept up on Reki's face as she pictured herself struggling with the pancake hungry kids. The House Mother would merely laugh behind her hand and leave her to deal with it.

"Looks like the tables have turned," she said quietly to herself, but the grin on her face faded as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Before she could even begin to brace herself the door was flung open and a very worn out House Mother stared at her through narrowed eyes.

"Is there a problem?" Reki asked smartly, unable to stop taking revenge at the only opportunity she would have.

A vein in the old woman's neck looked as though it were about to burst. "Yes, there is a problem, Reki! Those kids are absolutely wild!"

"Well that's not very nice."

"Reki! Get down there and help me!"

With a frustrated sigh, Reki nodded her head at the sleeping from in front of her. "She's still out, and she is also fevering pretty badly. I asked Kana to get a doctor on her way back from the clock tower tonight, but in the meantime I need to keep a closer eye on her than I have for the other newborns before. Anything could happen to her in this condition when she was in the cocoon for thee days." She spoke for a while as to delay the House Mother and abate her anger, but her eyes flashed dangerously and she shut the door behind her as she entered the room fully.

_Uh oh, _Reki thought, lighting a cigarette and getting it into her mouth to look peaceful and calm as her hidden hand gripped the edge of the chair hard. She was not in the mood for a tantrum from the old lady, but to her surprise, she spoke calmly.

"So it was three days after all," she said as she stared down at the form, her eyes running up and down her weakened body as though she were examining a science experiment. "Rakka said something to me like that as she headed out this afternoon, but I didn't believe what I had heard. How did she survive?"

Reki shrugged. "Beats me, but at least she made it."

The stern woman's calm demeanour returned as she turned to Reki. "I understand your feelings and I know how badly you want to stay up here with her, but I am afraid that I must go back on that promise I made earlier. I didn't realise that you had another bundle of children from the factory, and one pair of hands is simply not enough."

Reki crossed her arms stubbornly. "Sorry, but there's no one else available to watch her, and with her body getting hotter every minute and her nightmares becoming harder to handle she can't be trusted on her own."

"Than get Nemu. Surely the library will understand enough to let her leave and take care of this Haibane just for the remainder of the day," the House Mother persisted, growing more and more agitated. "You don't have a choice in this Reki. It's a madhouse down there."

Knowing that there was no way around this, the smoking Haibane gave in and headed downstairs, giving one last longing look towards the sleeping girl. She knew that she had to hurry incase the Haibane panicked in her sleep or her condition suddenly worsened.

"If Nemu is still unavailable, check the other girls. I am sure one of them will be allowed to leave," the old woman said as she descended the final steps to be swamped by the young children again who were screaming out that vegetables were evil.

"Whatever," Reki muttered as she left the house. Although she was almost as certain as the woman that Nemu would be allowed to leave to babysit the girl, she felt a little uncomfortable that she wouldn't be able to watch her. After all, she had grown used to the job, and when it was as serious as this she wanted to be in that room more than anything.

"Damn I hate jealousy," she admitted to herself as she walked across the street. Rain fell down on her gently and she looked up to see a sky that resembled her feelings inside: Grey and dismal.

After she had learned that she was a caring person inside instead of the cold hearted monster she had thought, she became a lot more aware of her emotions and allowed herself to care for everyone else without a selfish wish on her mind. Because of it, though, she had become more of a mother to the girls and therefore the births were a big deal to her.

"If that girl dies…" she whispered to herself, biting her tongue as punishment for the thought. She couldn't think about that outcome, but she knew that if it happened, it would shatter her. She had never lost a newborn before, and she didn't want the experience to start now.

*****

I woke to the sound of soft snoring.

The darkness had finally released me from its clutches, though my body felt wearier than it had before, and my head felt as though it would split. Nevertheless, I allowed my eyes to open and stared at the burning lights around me. I had been in the darkness for too long and the brightness made me shut my eyes tightly.

The snoring got a little louder, and I opened my eyes again. Squinting, I looked to my side and stared in shock at a woman with thick brown hair, rough white clothing… and a pair of grey wings on her back.

I swallowed a startled scream and leapt back in the bed only to have the blankets around me fall to reveal a white medical styled dress tied at the back, but the attire was not what bothered me. The spots of blood on the front of the dress is what made me leap back again until I was lying on the floor with an aching back.

"What the hell is going on?" I gasped, staring at the ceiling and trying to remember what had happened. It was all fragmented, and my memory only back as far as the cocoon. Anything before that was lost to me, including my name. Officially freaked out by this new scrap of information I started to panic.

_Need to calm down, need to calm down, _I thought to myself, breathing in and out slowly before attempting to sit up. As soon as my back straightened, pain raced up my spine and I almost cried out again. I felt my back and learnt of the piercing agony again, and I trembled as I realised that _there were two bones sticking out of my shoulder blades!_

For the third time I had to choke on a scream. By this point I could barely bring myself to stand. I had no idea where I was, what had happened to me to make me so ill, why I had broken bones in my back, and who I even was…

I had to get out, I knew that much. Using the bed, I hoisted myself up on weak legs and turned to leave the room, seeing that the woman was still asleep in the wooden chair at the side of the bed. That was when I noticed more spots of blood on the covers and the pillow, and I felt light headed. I rushed towards the door, stumbling on frail limbs before I grappled with the door knob for a painstaking moment. As soon as I heard a moan from the stranger in the room I practically knocked it down.

Before me was a line of steps that I almost fell upon. Luckily I had good instincts and swayed myself around to clasp against the wall, my fingers gripping loose wooden boards desperately until I regained my footing.

I started to descend the stairs, hoping against all odds that they weren't creaky, but as I heard voices I realised that my real problem lay before me. There were others in the house, and many by the sounds of it. I could hear children yelling and jumping around, and two older women screaming back. For a moment it sounded a little funny, but I mentally slapped myself for losing concentration. Escape was my top priority.

The only way was to sneak further into the house until I found the door, and that meant going past the arguing family downstairs. The thought terrified me, but then so did this illness and confusion. I weighed up both and decided that the more pressing problem was the mysterious sickness, so I slipped down to the final steps and worked my way into the shadows.

I had no idea where I would go once I left the house, for I had no idea where I even was, but all I knew was that I had to get out. They had done something to me, and that had me completely convinced that they were dangerous.

Hiding in the shadows of what appeared to be a kitchen, the scene of the screaming and shouting was revealed to me. Children raced around the tables and chairs as plates of colourful vegetables faced them. Two women, one a black haired adult with a cigarette in her mouth and the other older and sterner tried to round up the kids. The sight was so unfamiliar to me that I felt even less safe in this house.

As one of the children headed into the next room, the younger woman chased after her, leaving only the older woman to command the still present youths around. As soon as she turned her back I raced across the room into another hidden in shadow. Slowly I closed the door and disappeared down a short hall until I found the door.

The way out.

Without a backward glance or a second thought, I ran outside into a quiet street and kept running, racing through side streets, passing through small crowds, and I only stopped when I was well away from the house. Shuddering and trying to calm my thundering heart, I took in a great lungful of air and studied my surroundings.

I was in what looked like the town square. I stood on a patch of dying grass that stretched out to the edges of the road in which people walked, fearless and joyful. Everyone was dressed in ragged clothes, and the buildings and stalls were all made of wood and bricks, gloomy and cheap, yet the people seemed to enjoy their existence as they laughed together and greeted each other in harmony.

I felt a chill and wrapped my arms around my slim body. I was freezing cold, starving, thirsty, and scared in a world that I did not know. I had no money or things to trade. I was in my skin with a thin dress hanging over me. There was no way I could survive this sickness unless I found some better clothes.

Trying not to waste time nor look suspicious, I wandered the street, peering at shop signs to find one that would sell clothing and avoiding everyone as best I could.

"Are you lost there, young one?"

I screamed out in fright as an elderly man with barely any more than a grey over coat, stained pants, and a walking stick spoke to me. He had his hand out to grasp my arm, but I had no trust to spare. I raced in the opposite direction, ducking and diving out of the way of other people until I tripped up on my tired feet and landed in a filthy stinking puddle.

No one came to help me this time, and I was left to pull my face out and deal with the soaking putrid water as it soaked down my back and front. People were staring at me, and finally some approached to lend me a hand. Again I could not bare the help and shoulder my way past them, tears stinging my face.

I hated this.

Through all of my growing sorrow and the pain that wreaked havoc through my body, I found myself staring right at the shop I had been searching for. The sign hanging above the door showed the picture of a shirt, and I almost cried out in relief as I entered eagerly.

The inside of the shop was very warm and cosy. Hangers stood everywhere, bearing clothes that caught my eye immediately. I stared at my own dress which was now patched with brown mud mixed with the blood, and saturated with the filthy water I had fallen in.

From my left, a voice came and made me jump. "Umm… are you looking for something there?"

I turned to see a middle aged man standing behind a counter, his hands folded out in front of him as he waited for me to come over.

"Y-yes," I stuttered, surprised at the dead tone of my voice. "I-I'm looking for-for something a little, umm… warmer."

He looked me up and down with dark blue eyes and raised an eyebrow. "I recognise that dress. The Haibane wear them after they arrive here, but I don't see any wings on you."

Another tear rolled down my face as frustration and fear caught me in a deadly embrace. "Please! I can't go back there! Please lend me some clothes! I'll pay you later!"

He smiled as I panicked and raised a calming hand. "Hey, don't worry about it. I would send you back to them seeing as you look like you're about to pass out, but if you really don't want to go back…"

I shook my head quickly. "Please, please don't take me back!"

He could see how desperate I was and caved in, though he did not look pleased with himself. "I'll give you some clothes for free seeing as you look as white as a sheet, but even though I know it's all up to you, I think you should go back for your own sake. I know those girls, and they'll take good care of you."

I shook my head again, another tear falling and pattering to the floor. He sighed at my miserable face and pulled out a box of old clothes.

"These are the newest winter clothes I just got in. Take whatever you want."

I dove into the box, pulling out great bundles and sorting through them until I had found a deep blue sweater, thick black pants, brown furry gloves, and a matching pair of boots.

"Thank you so much!" I gasped as I headed to the door with my new clothes, now as eager to leave as I had been to arrive. But I stopped dead as he cleared his throat from behind me.

"We have a change room, you know."

Going red with embarrassment, I turned again and followed his direction to the changing rooms. He spoke to me as I switched my clothes inside.

"If you're going to stay away from those Haibane girls, can I suggest a place for you to stay?"

I thought for a moment, and then decided that he was trustworthy enough with all his kindness. "Okay."

"Head to the fields just beyond this town, alright? You'll see them because of the big windmills there, but one thing…"

His voice had turned heavy and I froze with my sweater halfway over my head. "What is it?"

Hs tone changed again, this time tense and serious. "Stay away from the wall."

I needed no more warning. Although it quirked my curiosity, the way he spoke it convinced me enough that there was no way I would go anywhere near this mysterious wall.

Once I had finished dressing, I stepped out find him leaning against the side of the next changing cubicle boredly. He smiled as he saw my new clothes and offered to throw my dress in the bin. I obliged without a second though and thanked him for his help.

He nodded, and then turned grave again. "So like I said, stick to the fields, and stay away from the wall, okay?"

Knowing that I owed him at least that much, I agreed and left the shop, feeling a little better now that I was wearing warm clothes. Although my body still felt like it had been dragged out of ditch, at least I was no longer freezing cold.

It took me only a moment to find the fields as they rose high from the levelled ground just outside of the town as he had said. The windmills turned in gentle unison and I smiled at the calming sight. It seemed the perfect place to go to start thinking about things and working out what was going on.

*****

Once Reki and the House Mother had the children eating their vegetables quietly, the motherly Haibane realised that it had been some time since Nemu had come into the house and she hadn't heard a thing. She started to worry, and the House Mother saw her standing on edge as she peered at the stairs constantly.

With a sigh, the old woman nodded her head. "Go on then, I can take care of things here. After all, it looks like all they need is a little scare of uneaten vegetables coming to life and they're little angels all of a sudden."

The idea had been genius, and Reki had to stifle a giggle as she headed up the stairs to her room. The horrified faces of the kids had her laughing until she was on the edge of her seat, but she had still been forced to eat a mouthful of vegetables herself to make the threat appeal more convincing.

Nonetheless, she was glad to finally be checking up on the girl again, but as soon as she opened the door she was faced with a terrifying sight.

Nemu was fast asleep, and the bed was empty.


	3. Wings

**Chapter Three**

**Wings**

"Nemu?"

The brown haired woman gave a yawn before her eyes fluttered open. "H-huh?"

Reki rushed over to the bed and stared down at the bloody covers. She gasped at the sight. "Her wings have started? Damn!"

"What's going on?" Nemu asked as she raised her head. "Did something…" She trailed off as she realised that the Haibane she was supposed to be watching was gone.

Reki was panicking as she searched the room, opening the closet, peering under the table, calling out 'girl' as she had not yet been named.

Nemu stood up from her seat, guilt running cold through her. "Reki, I'm so sorry. I've been staying up so late and I just couldn't keep my eyes open."

With a frustrated sigh Reki realised the girl was not in the room and collapsed into a chair. "It's okay," she muttered, slamming a fist on the table. "But now what the hell are we meant to do?"

Hearing the racket from upstairs, the House Mother appeared in the doorway. "Is there a problem?"

Reki scoffed, but quickly scolded herself for the lack of respect, for the House Mother was not to blame. Nemu had made the fault, but she also wouldn't have possibly been able to avoid falling sleep after missing the many hours at night and then working in the busy library.

She exhaled deeply in defeat. "The girl's gone. She must have slipped past all of us."

Still feeling terrible, Nemu rose to her feet and headed towards the door. "I'll find her. It's my fault after all."

Seeing the tragic face on her friend made Reki shake her head furiously. "Don't blame yourself, Nemu. We'll both go out and find her. She's ill, so we need to be fast."

Nemu nodded and disappeared out into the hall, Reki right behind her, but the House Mother caught her elbow. "Reki, don't be careless out there. Think of how this child is feeling and act accordingly. You don't want to scare her over to the wall."

The old woman was wise in her years it seemed, and Reki almost slapped herself in the head for planning to rush at her. "You're right. I'll be very careful."

Nemu and Reki headed out into the cold, wrapping their cloaks around then as a light rain was released from above. They stared around wildly, looking for the white dressed girl, but she didn't seem to be in the first district. However, as they deepened their search into the shallowing crowds, Kana raced up to them in urgency.

"Reki, Nemu, the new girl! I saw her running past a little while ago!" She stopped before the women and bent over, panting and struggling to catch her breath.

Reki bent down desperately in front of Kana to hear her choked out words. "Where is she Kana? Where did she run to?"

Still struggling, Kana caught her stomach and glanced in the direction she had last seen the girl, pointing with a shaking finger. "That way…"

Without wasting another second, Reki raced off, leaving Nemu to practically drag along a recovering Kana. It seemed Reki really meant business, and it only made them worry about the new Haibane's sickness. Reki had told them that it was normal, but they had already had their own doubts. Now it looked as though she certainly was in trouble with her health.

*****

I sat with the windmill humming gently at my back . It made me feel even more tired if it was even possible. I could barely keep my eyes open as it was, but the relaxation made me ignore the pain in my back a little.

A bead of blood ran down from the bones protruding from my shoulder blades and I immediately jerked back to reality and sobbed in despair. I was going to bleed to death if I didn't find medical attention soon, but I couldn't face the town again knowing that my absence had probably already been found.

Though it did not seem particularly smart to stay here where they would eventually find me, I was too scared to do anything else. The wall loomed ahead, a great grey barrier that had the feeling of danger. I kept well away, but then if I went back into the town I would be found faster.

Nevertheless, I wanted to move to somewhere that wasn't so close to the town. There seemed to be quiet a bit of room between here and the wall to the far right. There were mainly fields stretched out, but it ended in a thick forest. I decided to aim for that, but as I tried to sit up the pain in my back forced me straight back down with fresh tears running down my face.

"I can't even move," I gasped, gripping the grass with shaking fingers in frustration. "What the hell is going to happen to me?"

Again I felt the wave crashing over me, but this time it was a wave of sorrow.

*****

"Reki, Nemu, Kana!"

Hikari bounded over to her friends, a worried smile on her face. She had just finished her shift and was heading back over to Old Home, but seeing everyone else hurrying across the street had her worried.

"Has something happened?" she asked as she approached. Reki ran straight past, but Kana and Nemu stopped to explain. Her eyes widened as she heard the news and she stared after the black haired woman who was now asking people if they had seen the girl anywhere.

"Where's Kuu? She was meant to finish half an hour ago!" Kana asked hurriedly, glancing around to try and spot the girl. "I hope she's found her."

Reki suddenly started thanking a woman quickly before turning to the others and pointing ahead. They raced over to learn that the woman Reki had questioned had seen a girl fitting the description enter the clothes shop.

Now that they had a lead, they wasted no time and headed to the shop. Upon entering they were immediately approached by Rakka and Kuu whom had been talking with the shop keeper. They turned with hopeful faces as the rest of the group entered.

"She's in the fields," Kana said quickly, turning to smile thankfully at the shop keeper whom they all knew well.

He nodded to confirm the story. "I asked her to go up there and stay away from the wall after I gave her some new clothes to guard against the cold. I thought that if I told her to go by the windmills than I could tell one of you when you came in here to ask. I don't think she'll move from the spot either. She was pretty frightened and eager to get away and be on her own."

His voice was shaking a little and Reki jumped practically behind the counter. "What is it?" she asked seriously. "Is there something else?"

He sighed and lowered his head. "I was going to throw out her dress after she left, but as I turned it inside out I found that there were huge smudges of blood on the inside soaking through. It seemed like enough to worry about, but by the time I walked out of the door to find her again and send her to the doctor, she was already gone."

Fear clutched at Reki's heart and she headed for the door, swearing under her breath. The Haibane's wings had begun to grow out, and she would be in great pain and danger being on her own through this ordeal, then there was the severe fever as well.

Time was of the essence.

*****

My body shivered as the cold seeped in and mixed with the chilled feeling inside that I felt whenever I was sick. It made my body shake uncontrollably, but soon I had no energy to have even that reaction. I lay still as pain clawed over my back and my bones seemed to grow longer.

"What's… happening…?" I gasped out, my voice barely recognisable in its weak whisper. "I need… help…"

Time went by slowly it seemed. The wind blew gradually, its cold biting at her toes, then gradually raising to her face where she had no energy to shelter it with a hand. The rumbling of the mill, gentle and soothing, soon disappeared and she was left with almost all silence. The grass waved in a sluggish dance and started to fade away as she stared at them with a tiring body.

"So this… is it…" she muttered to herself, closing her eyes. "I'm going… to die…"

Her back raged with a growing agony that began to burn. She bit down on her lip until she tasted blood, having no other way to brace herself against the feeling. She had not imagined that there could be another stage for the already suffering area on her back, but it seemed there was a pain she had not experienced before, and it exploded inside of her, making her scream.

Then she could feel it. A tugging as the bones started to crawl further out. She cried out until her voice was gone, clawing at grass until she pulled out chunks of dirt.

In all of the suffering, she managed to catch something else outside of the moment. Another voice reached her ears and she shivered in fear. Even if it was someone who could help her, she didn't trust anyone in this strange place. They could be the ones who did this to her…

"Calm down, calm down," a soft voice said, and she felt a hand fall against her shoulder. "Take deep breaths, the worst is almost over."

Reki tried her best to comfort the girl as she rolled her gently onto her stomach so her wings could come out safely. Nemu kneeled at her opposite side to talk to the girl soothingly as her body was racked with pain. The other girls watched in shock as the wings started to break through the flesh.

"Here they come," Reki muttered sadly, sliding back a little as the feathers started to appear, coated in blood and stuck together in the muck. "Hold on."

Nemu gripped the Hiabane's hand as she grasped for something, anything, to hold onto. She felt a little bad as she squeezed the strangers hand to the point where she knew it would hurt, but she couldn't stop.

"I'm… sorry…" she managed to gasp out as the wings gave their final push and burst out of her back. Luckily she had fainted a second before and did not have to take on the worst of the pain.

It was over, and Reki released the breath she had held. The wings flexed naturally, then fell still against her back, and the woman realised the girl was not moving an inch. Her first reaction was to worry, but Nemu was already making sure that the Haibane was breathing.

"She's okay, right?" Kana asked, looking for the confirmation that would calm her thundering heart.

All eyes were on Nemu as she held her hand before the girl's face to feel for her breath. For a moment she sat there, her face paling as she couldn't feel a thing… then she found it, the hot breath gentle against her hand.

"She's alright," she said in relief.

They all exhaled deeply, but Reki still looked as serious as ever. She flipped the girl slowly onto her back and held her in her arms as she studied her. She was breathing unevenly and lightly, and she was as white as a sheet. To the touch, she was like ice, and nothing aroused her in the slightest.

"We need to get her out of here," Reki said in a voice of deadly calm. She lifted the girl up effortlessly into her arms and headed off towards the town without another word or glance at the others. They followed in tow, none daring to ask any questions.

The silence was almost unbearable for Kana who always wanted to know whatever was going on, but she bit her tongue until it bled to keep the words back. She found her comfort in Kuu, who held onto her hand halfway back to the house. It was not clear if she did it to calm Kana or herself, but Kana held onto her anyway.

As they entered the streets, Reki picked up the pace and they were forced to jog after her. Nemu took the lead to make sure the way was clear of carts and the such, and the girls started to fret. Rakka was almost in tears as she remembered the birth of the wings that she had never seen first hand like that. She remembered what it felt like and couldn't believe how much worse it actually looked. She couldn't bare the thought of imagining the girl going through the pain that she had.

"I hope she's alright," Hikari whispered, more to herself than anyone else. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and Rakka pat her on the shoulder as she ran.

"Reki will take care of her," the brown haired girl told her. "She's kept her alive this whole time. She won't fail now."

By the time they reached the house, Nemu had already rushed upstairs to prepare a bath for the girl, and Reki was right on her tail. As the rest of the girls entered the house, the House Mother beckoned them away from the stairs on Reki's orders.

"That's not fair!" Kana cried, deliberately making her voice loud enough for Reki to hear as she headed to the bathroom.

The House Mother sighed and bowed her head. "You do not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation," she muttered. "That girl is very ill."

Kana would not calm at her words. "I know she's ill! That doesn't mean we have to be left out! Damn, Reki always does this to us!"

Kuu gripped Kana's hand tighter. "Don't yell, Kana… It'll be okay."

With a tired grunt, the old woman took a seat and beckoned for the girls to do the same. Once they were all around the table she cleared her throat and began to explain.

"You all know that she was in the cocoon for longer than Haibane usually are," she began, an angry twitch appearing in her eye as Kana rolled her eyes and waited impatiently for her to get on with it. "Sometimes when a Haibane spends too long in the cocoon, they die, and sometimes, like this girl, the come out of the cocoon…"

They all waited eagerly for her to continue, knowing that this was the piece they had not been told of.

With a look of utter sadness, the House Mother told them what Reki had failed to mention. "There has not been a single Haibane that has lived for more than a day when they have come out of the full grown cocoon after more than two days."

Every girl at the table choked on their words and fell silent. There was nothing to be said. All they could do was wait and hope that this Haibane, against all odds, would survive.

*****

Upstairs, the bath was ready and Reki and Nemu both slowly pulled the girl's clothes off and gently lifted her into the water. She needed to get warm immediately or her heart would stop. Reki knew well what happened to those who stayed in the cocoon for too long, and like the girls that waited in the main room below, she was hoping against everything that she would make it.

Nemu stared at the form as her head rested against the back of the bath, her eyes shut and her body motionless. A tear trickled down her face and splashed into the water as it slowly became crimson from the blood soaked wings.

Reki could feel her pain in herself, and reached over to grip her friend's shoulder tightly. "She isn't going to die," were her only firm words as they waited for a sign of life from the girl.

Time passed slowly, filled by the dripping of the tap and the constant darkening red of the blood as it seeped out into the water. An hour had passed and Reki was in the middle of washing the girl, being as fast and tender as she could be when she heard a small thump from behind her.

"Nemu?" she said, turning to find her friend fast asleep on the bath mat. She had been exhausted as it was, and it seemed she didn't have the energy to make it any longer.

Heaving a sigh, Reki left the girl and bent down to shake her friend, but as she reached for her shoulder, she heard a splash from the bath. In a second she was at the edge again, staring down at the girl as her hand began to twitch and her eyes slowly opened a crack.

"Wh…who?" the girl managed to whisper out, staring up at Reki. "Who…?"

Realising she wanted to know who she was, Reki replied kindly. "My name is Reki. You're safe in my house."

The girl closed her eyes tight as a wave of nausea passed through her and she felt a headache coming on. "Hurts… Everything… hurts…"

"I know," said Reki softly, smiling as she realised that she was not as pale as she was before. "You're looking better though."

"I'm sick… aren't I?" she asked, her eyes flashing open again. They were bright blue, Reki noticed. The blue of the clearest ocean.

"You are sick, but it looks like your getting better. It'll take time, but the worst part of it is over, I promise." She meant it to her very core, because she believed that the girl would be okay now. She couldn't wake up and begin to recover, and then pass away. That would be too cruel. She refused to believe that fate could be so bleak.

"Water…" the girl murmured, her voice suddenly turning frightened. Her hands began to reach for the sides of the bath desperately and she started to whimper. "Afraid of… water."

Reki knew that she was too weak to move too much and tried to calm her down. "It's okay. You don't have to be sacred. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Water!"

"Calm down, it's alright!"

"Water!!"

The commotion had woken Nemu. She rose, gave a yawn, then froze stiff as she realised the girl was awake and thrashing around in the bath. Water was cascading over the edges as Reki pleaded with the girl to calm herself.

"What's wrong with her?" Nemu asked as she grasped the towel incase the girl flipped out.

Reki clenched her teeth, losing her patience as the girl forced her body into action when it needed rest. "She's afraid of water."

"Get her out," Nemu said, though her tone made it sound like a suggestion. Nevertheless, Reki agreed and they helped the girl out and wrapped her in towels. She was shivering, but seemed happy to be away out of the bath.

"She's still freezing," Nemu said as she wrapped her up from behind and curled a hand around to feel her forehead.

"Come on," Reki demanded, pulling the girl along gently with Nemu behind her. "We'll put her to bed in the spare room because it's closest."

They shuffled the girl out of the room at a careful pace, adding towels around her as her teeth chattered and she cuddled herself desperately.

The spare room was dusty and covered with old paints and brushes Reki didn't use anymore, but luckily the House Mother cleaned the sheets of all of the beds incase of emergencies like this, so Reki was comfortable with letting the girl slide onto the mattress beneath the blankets. Luckily the towels had soaked up most of the water from her, but her wings and hair were both dripping wet.

"Lay on your side," Reki said to the girl kindly, trying to keep the urgency out of her voice. "You'll hurt your wings if you lay on your back, and besides, I need to dry them."

Confusion clouded the girl's eyes, but she obeyed and rested on her side as Reki took one of her wings in her caring hands and began to run the towel over the feathers.

Nemu sat beside the girl, towelling her hair and speaking to her softly as she asked who she was.

"I'm Nemu. I live here with Reki," she said, her hands more lovingly than Reki had ever known as they slowly ran the towel through the girl's shoulder length copper hair. "I also work in the library."

"You like reading?" the Haibane asked, seeming quiet interested with the woman that she could concentrate on whilst Reki was at her back.

Nemu nodded. "Very much so. I like slipping into the different worlds and learning about all different things."

Reki smiled as Nemu expressed her passion to the stranger, something that only she could do so well.

"Does anyone else live here?" the girl asked, changing the subject as she heard a soft footfall on the wood somewhere outside of the room.

"Yes, four other girls," Nemu replied.

"Speaking of which…" Reki said with a frown as she spied Kuu's curious eye peeking through the slightly open door.

Nemu smiled as she realised they were no longer on their own and asked the new Haibane, "Would you like to meet them?"

For a moment the girl didn't answer, and then as she thought about it she gave a small nod and Nemu looked towards the door. "Come in girls."

One by one the girls entered the room, filing in quietly as they all eyed the new girl curiously. Reki eyed them seriously, daring them to disturb the already exhausted girl.

Kuu stood at the very edge of the bed, peering curiously at the red-haired Haibane lying in the bed. "Hello," she greeted kindly.

The girl smiled back tiredly. "Hello…" There was a shy softness to her voice.

"This is Kuu," Kana introduced, dropping her arms on the young girl's shoulders. "I'm Kana, this is Rakka," she pointed to the brown haired girl who gave a small wave, "And this is Hikari." Hikari gave a formal bow.

"Hello everyone…" the girl replied, giving a weak smile to the entire group.

"Do you have a name yet?" Kana asked, looking to Reki expectantly. Reki shook her head quickly, and Kana dropped the question. They didn't want anymore confusion placed on the girl.

The night was closing around them outside, the moon casing a pale light inside. The darkness was frightening to the new girl as she remembered the cocoon when time passed and darkness clutched it for some hours, and she shrunk into her covers, shaking.

Reki looked up to the girls who were grouped around her. "Alright, that's enough you lot. You can see her when she's feeling better."

Not having the guts to argue with a clearly tired Reki, they left the room, waving their goodbye's to their new family member. Only Kuu paused at the door for a moment and said quietly, "I hope you're better soon," before she headed out and closed the door qilently behind her.

With a touched smile on her face, the Hiabane pulled herself out of the covers again. "They're all so nice," she said softly.

Reki shrugged. "You get used to them. Soon you'll see how rowdy they are, and then you'll be wondering why you said that."

Nemu rolled her eyes. "They aren't that bad now that they're growing up," she defended.

With a laugh, Reki fought back. "How can you know when you're fast asleep all of the time?"

Before the simmering argument could get heated, they stopped at the sound of snoring and realised that the girl was fast asleep. Her pale face was now full of colour, and her hair had even seemed to brighten up now that it was dry. Her breathing was normal and gentle and she even had a tiny grin as she found peace in her slumber.

"She looks much healthier now," Nemu pointed out gratefully.

Reki only nodded and semi-consciously began brushing the girl's wings. She only thought to look at the colour when Nemu suggested that she concentrate on what she was doing.

Looking down at the feathers, Reki gave a sharp sigh of relief. "Grey wings," she said quietly. "Beautiful grey wings."

It seemed the tainting blackness that had taken so many Haibane before in this town was not destined for this innocent soul. She would live a happy life with them, Reki was going to make sure of that.


	4. Nami

**Chapter Four**

**Nami**

Sunlight beckoned my eyes open as it beamed into the room, lighting up a new world to me. I lied against soft sheets and a warm bed, and it took some mental convincing for me to sit up from the comfort. As I peered around at my messy surroundings, the previous night played out again in my mind. Shifting myself so I could sit up, I realised I was not alone.

Sleeping softly next to me was the woman, Reki, her head resting on her folded arms as she dozed on the bed with me. She had obviously not wanted me to be alone when I woke, and I smiled at the generous thought.

"Reki…?" I called softly, poking her in the shoulder. "Reki?"

"Rise and shine, you two!"

Kana, the energetic girl, came bustling inside with a tray full of food. Behind her, Nemu was grasping for her wrist.

"Kana, get back out here! The new Haibane needs rest!"

"I'm just bringing her some breakfast, geez!"

I smiled as they both tumbled through the door, somehow the tray of food remaining intact in Kana's hand as she pushed past an angry Nemu. Both froze as they realised I was awake, sitting up in bed and smiling in greeting.

A smile spread across Kana's face. "See? She's fine," she said, poking her tongue out at the gentle woman, Nemu. "Hungry?"

I nodded to Kana. "Yes… a little."

"Well take it slowly," Nemu said as she sat beside me once Kana had handed me the plate of eggs and toast.

I did try to eat slowly, but the food tasted too delicious as it touched my tongue and I had to shovel it all in as though fearing it would disappear. After all, I had gone without food in the cocoon for long enough to expect it to be too good a luxury to come easily.

"Well, well, well, you have quiet an appetite there!" Kana exclaimed.

Nemu had to stop herself from taking the fork from my hand and force feeding me before I took more than I could handle, but I shifted myself away an inch subconsciously.

Behind me, Reki stirred. She gave a tired moan and lifted her head, taking in a sudden intake of breath as she saw me inhaling my food like a starving animal.

"Whoa, take it easy!" she said hurriedly as she jumped up beside me, sitting in the centre of the bed and grasping her own plate.

"Hikari made two plates for you two first," Kana said enviously. "The rest of us have to wait."

Reki smiled slyly. "Serves you right for leading your little brigade in last night."

Kana looked utterly taken aback. "What makes you think it was me?"

"Maybe the fact that you are always to blame for things like that."

"Hey, let's not bring up the past!"

I was enjoying listening to the bickering between the pair, but a wave of weariness suddenly enveloped me and I lowered my fork to the plate. As though it were taped to my eyelids, I could see the world of water, the wave climbing up, and then crashing down upon me again. Before I could control myself I was grasping for my throat and begging for air, only to realise that it was not the water that was choking me, but the food as it became wedged in my throat.

Reki swore and started to pound me on the back, desperate to dislodge the food. Kana looked horrified and stood like a statue, taking note of my shaking hands that was an odd symptom for choking on food. Nemu had also noticed that I was getting whiter again, but was more worried about me being murdered by the toast at the moment to think on it too much.

Finally, the food came loose and I spat it up onto the plate in a disgusting little heap. Reki fell back against the mattress and exhaled the breath she had been holding since I started to choke.

Kana laughed nervously. "I guess you'll be careful next time, right?" she said, already exiting towards the door, afraid of what Reki would say. She was sure it would be along the lines of, 'How dare you serve her food that is as chokable as that! Why did you just stand there while she was dying! You put something in the toast, didn't you!?'

Either way, seeing as the new girl was okay, she was out of there.

I suppressed a nervous laugh as I took in another mouthful and chewed it slowly. "Sorry Reki, Nemu," I mumbled. "I didn't mean to scare you like that."

They both smiled, but they looked tense. I wanted to know if something was wrong, but I was too nervous to ask. A twitch in Nemu's wings suddenly made me remember the traumatic experience of something growing out of my back from the night and I reached back to feel the soft feathers of my own wings.

Curiosity couldn't be helped and I gripped the feathers tightly, tugging at the wings to see how strong they were wedged into my back. A soft hand gripped mine and I heard Reki say, "Be careful with them. They only came in last night."

I nodded and pulled my hands away, feeling foolish.

"So they hurt?" Nemu asked, looking back at them.

I shook my head, but questions were begging to be answered. "What colour are they?" I asked.

Reki slipped to my left, letting her feet rest upon the ground. She looked tired and I felt terrible because she had stayed the night in here for me, but she smiled at me brightly. "They're a healthy grey, not quiet black, not quiet white."

"Grey?" I echoed, thinking hard. "Angels have white wings, so than… what am I?"

I immediately knew I had asked a sensitive question despite it being the most obvious to ask. Nemu shifted uncomfortably on the bed, and Reki ended up answering the question despite her sudden silent demeanour. "We're simply known as the Haibane, a group of people born from cocoons with wings and halos. None of us know what we are exactly apart from the name that we have given ourselves."

I let that sink in, but the mention of halos had caught my attention in its tight grip. I looked towards her head to see a shining golden ring hovering a few inches from her hair.

"Wow…" I gasped, staring at it in wonder.

Catching my gaze, Reki laughed and gave it a playful flick, making it ring out. "You'll get one soon. First, we need to get you washed up a little and changed. I've got some spare clothes I brought that you can wear."

I stared down at my feet. "Oh no, it's alright. If you brought them then they shouldn't be wasted on me."

"No really, don't worry about it," Reki said, standing up and taking my hand to lead me to the bathroom. "I'm not sure if they'll fit seeing as I'm a lot taller than you, but it'll be better than those dirty things."

I looked down and was shocked to find that my attire had changed again. I was now wearing another hospital gown, but as Reki had said, it was a little dirty as it had brown stains along the front and small tears at the collar.

We entered the bathroom and Nemu disappeared downstairs to have her breakfast. I was left with Reki, all of my wonders brimming out, but Reki turned to leave.

"I'll go get those clothes and leave them on the door knob. Don't worry, no one will come up here," she said as she opened the door, but before she shut it she hesitated. "Will you be alright in here on your own? Last night you said you were afraid of water, and you're still a little weak."

I shuddered as I remembered my fear. I had only known of it last night when I woke in the bath and found it consuming me, but I felt like I could handle it, and I didn't want Reki to waste her time looking after me again.

"I'll be fine," I said, already turning on the tap to convince her. "Don't worry."

With a nod, Reki left, and I slowly slipped into the bath. As the water cascaded over me, I let out a whimper. Fear surged through me and wanted nothing more than to get straight out, feeling as though the wave would come up again. I gripped for the edges of the bath, but fought back with myself as I realised that I had control over the amount of water that I used, so I left the bath two thirds empty.

Feeling comfortable with the ordeal now, I washed away the grime of waking in the morning and woke myself up. Once I was done, I dried myself with a towel and opened the door to find, as Reki had promised, the clothes hanging on the knob.

They were simple clothes, a brown pair of baggy pants and a grey sweater. I pulled them on gratefully but winced as my wings were pressed firmly to my back. I swung around, reaching for them desperately. My fingers gripped at the sweater and I finally found a pair of holes. Holding them open, my wings, almost on their own, squirmed out of the torn fabric and flapped out in freedom.

Sighing in relief, I leaned against the door to catch my breath. "That will take some getting used to," I realised out loud.

Something small caught my eye, resting on the bathroom floor, and I reached over to snatch a grey feather off of the tiles. Now I knew what the colour of my wings were, and I smiled. It was a pretty colour, despite my expectant white. Then it got me thinking of the name Haibane. I was a Haibane now, winged and soon to have a halo. It was daunting to belong to a group of angelic beings, and I wanted to know more. Unfortunately, though, Reki had said that there was nothing more known.

I pulled myself to my feet and left the bathroom, heading towards the stairs at the end of the hall. I could hear the other girls chattering away and assumed Reki was down there with them. Wanting more answers, I stepped down into what looked like a kitchen that was also wide enough to be a main room.

All of the girl's were there, and I was quiet proud to be able to remember their names as they all greeted me individually. Reki gave me an encouraging smile as I walked around the table, my heart thumping uncontrollably fast in my chest as I rested into a seat beside her.

"Those clothes look good on you," Rakka said from my left, giving me a warm smile. "They're Reki's, right?"

I nodded simply and noticed that they had all almost finished their meals. I wondered what they did for the rest of the day.

"Did you have any trouble with the wings?" Reki asked, studying them for a moment and making me fear that they had gone through some damage in the water or in my struggle to fit them through the holes on the sweater.

"A little," I muttered, reaching back and touching the tip of one of the wings. Almost as though it had a mind of its own it fluttered out and I shrieked in alarm.

The girls all giggled and assured me that it was normal.

"They're very sensitive," Hikari told me as she held onto a strange bronze object that looked like a frying pan with a hold in the centre. "It took Rakka a lot of time to get used to hers as well."

I looked up at her in surprise, wondering why only she was mentioned.

"I'm the newest Haibane other than you, of course," she answered, her smile persistently playing on her lips. "For a few days it felt like having another pair of arms or something on my back, but you forget they're there after a while."

That made me feel a lot better seeing as they were a little irritating, extra weights on my back.

"Just make sure you get someone to brush them for you, and wash them regularly," Nemu said from the opposite side of the table. I realised that she looked very tired as well, but then, she had since I had woken and first laid eyes upon her.

Kana cleared her throat to demand all attention and turned to look across at me with shining eyes. "It's about time we introduced ourselves properly instead of just giving you our names. I'm Kana, the best and brightest out of the group."

The others instantly protested and laughter broke out at the table.

"She's our tomboy, always stirring things up and chasing off the kids when they become too much for us to handle," Reki explained, shaking her head with a grin at the girl as she shrugged innocently.

"Kids?" I asked, turning around to try and see them.

"They're out with the House Mother at the moment," Reki said. "You'll see them later."

"My turn!" Kuu exclaimed, all eyes turning to her. "I'm Kuu, the youngest and probably the most active, always wanting to go out and stuff."

There were no disagreements to this.

Nemu explained herself next. "I'm Nemu, the oldest here and therefore officially the most knowledgeable."

Kana rolled her eyes. "And always sleeping off somewhere."

"You're aiming to get hit," Nemu replied smartly.

Rakka knocked on the table to end the argument and have her own turn. "I'm Rakka, still looking for answers to this world," she said a little shyly.

I nodded seriously, realising that she was very much like me.

"I'm Hikari," said the blonde from the kitchen as she started to wash up the dishes. "As you can see, I always get stuck with the house work, but I don't mind it, honestly."

Instantly, everyone thanked her and agreed that they would be living in a dump if it wasn't for her.

"Last of all, me," Reki said as she clasped her hands together. "I'm Reki, the 'mother' it seems to this messy lot, always having to keep them all alive… but it's a hell of a lot of fun, right girls?"

They all nodded, only Kana disagreeing to being incapable to keeping the place clean. This was met with more outrage, but as always it seemed to end with smiles. They were a very close group it seemed.

They all conversed at once, and I felt at peace as the feeling of being with a family fell over me. I tried to remember my own pastimes of a caring family, but I was shocked to see that my memory stopped once it reached the cocoon.

As though realising my thoughts, Reki gripped my shoulder. "You can't remember anything, can you?"

I gaped at her. "How did you know?"

She smiled slightly. "It always dawns on everyone at about the same time after waking up."

I let out a deep breath as everyone fell silent and stared at me with sorrow in their eyes. "It's normal, right?" I asked quietly. "For us?"

They all nodded sadly, glancing at each other. I felt my heart beginning to beat fast again and I realised that Reki was steadying me.

"Do you want to go outside for a minute?" she asked me gently, making me truly understand the motherly side of her.

I shook my head anyway and gave a weak smile. "I'm okay, but… why?"

"None of us are really sure why we can't remember anything as though we are new to the world," Hikari said, her own sad thoughts mixing in with her words. "That's why we stick together."

I nodded. "I see. So coming out of the cocoon really was kind of like a birth."

They all nodded together, giving me smiles of encouragement that failed to calm my heart. Nevertheless, I acted strong, ready to take on anything else that would hit me like that.

"Okay, now let's get you properly named and get you that halo," Reki said, wanting to move things right along. "Hikari, is it ready?"

"Almost."

Good. Now, tell me about your dream from the cocoon," Reki asked me, and I turned to find all eyes burning into my own. They were all eager to know and it frightened me a little, but nevertheless, I told them.

Once I had finished explaining, they were all thinking about it on their own and silence enveloped the room.

"That would explain your fear of water," Nemu said, talk finally gracing my ears again.

"You're afraid of water?" Kana gasped, her stare intense. "That must really suck."

I shrugged. "I guess so…"

"Well, Hikari?" Reki said as she stepped out of her chair and walked over to the girl. "You know that one, right?"

Feeling confused again, I was forced to wait for an explanation. Luckily I did not have to wait long.

"Nami! It means wave!" Hikari exclaimed. "It's prefect, right?"

Kuu nodded enthusiastically. "I like it! Nice and simple!"

They all seemed happy with the name, but I wasn't following. It only hit me when I realised that I didn't have my own name, and I smiled at my new title.

"Nami," I said, testing the word. It was an awkward feeling, knowng that this was what I was going to be known as from now on, but it was better than 'girl. "Yeah… It sounds nice."

Happy that I now had a new name, Reki pat me on the shoulder as she headed back over. "Okay, you'll be known as Nami then, after your dream of waves."

Putting it that was unnerving, but I didn't let it show. I didn't want to trigger another flashback of the dream and feel like I was drowning under the tonne of water again. It had been bad enough during breakfast.

"It's ready!" Hikari suddenly piped up, lifting the odd shaped instrument in her hands up to the table and squeezing the handle lightly, causing the lid to lift open. All of the girls leaned forward to study the glowing object inside, but I stayed in my seat, too nervous to approach.

"Just relax," Reki said as Hikari carried the instrument over to me and lifted it above my head. "Try not to move."

I followed her instruction and stayed as still as I possibly could, my eyes looking up as high as they could with my back as straight as it could go. I jerked a little in fear as Hikari let the glowing thing slid out over me, but Reki grasped my arm to keep me still.

I shivered under her grip, waiting for the impact of the object, but it never came. I looked up to see Reki and Hikari smiling, then I raised my sight properly to see the edge of a halo spinning above my head.

Now I was excited. "My own halo!"

"That's right!" Reki said happily. "You're lucky to have it stick there right away."

"Yeah, no holder for you," Rakka said, a secret joke making her crack herself up.

I felt a lot better now that I looked exactly like the rest of them, and the halo seemed to make me feel calm as though it possessed some sort of ability. I sat back in my chair proudly and studied the group as they all congratulated me.

_I think I'm going to fit in well here, _I thought happily, listening to them all as they told me about the town.

But there was still something tugging at me inside. It was a loneliness that started to tell me otherwise, and it was hard to ignore.


	5. Black Wings

**Chapter Five**

**Black Wings**

The next day couldn't have come faster for me after spending a sleepless night in the newly cleaned up spare room. It wasn't completely because of the pain that shot through my wings when I accidentally laid on them, or the fear that I would lose my halo in my sleep… It was the odd feeling that no one was there for me that had settled in the pit of my stomach.

I had turned onto my back and spent many of the hours of darkness staring up at the ceiling. I had no idea why such a sensation had gripped me now, of all times. It was clear that these girls cared about me, as they had accepted me, and especially Reki and Nemu whom had both been taking good care of me. None of it seemed to be enough to get rid of the feeling.

When morning came, I woke only having been asleep for three or more hours. There were dried tears on my cheeks from the fear of having no one, and I wiped at them hastily. I wanted to avoid unnecessary questions from my new Haibane friends.

Heading into the bathroom, I realised quiet the house was. It only provoked the mysterious feeling inside of me. I sighed as I sank into the bath, my ears still waiting for the sounds of the other girls in the house but it didn't come. The water around me swirled uneasily as I shifted during my wash. It could swallow me up like the water in my dreams.

"Nami," I said to myself, my voice echoing in the bathroom. "Wave."

It really was a fitting name. It made the towering wave that crushed me down into the depths of the torrents seem less terrifying, but it didn't rid it from my mind when I least needed it to come up. Twice it had come up the day before right after breakfast, and I had been forced to run to the toilet as my sickness reached another spike. Reki had sent me to bed for the remainder of the day, but today I felt a lot better.

"That's one less thing to worry about," I told myself out loud. "But the dreams of water are a sickness themselves." I lowered my head dismally and studied my thin, weak body. How much longer could I take this before it became too much for me? What was going to happen? I knew there were still things that Reki was hiding from me, but if she thought it would do me good not to know them just yet, than I would let it be. I didn't need something else destroying my sanity.

I left the bathroom feeling less aware of anything, my mind resting on the problems at hand. I stepped down the stairs slowly, my feet patting on the wood until they lay on the cold flooring of the kitchen area.

Immediately all eyes turned to me, and greetings followed. Everyone looked how I wanted to feel. They were dressed in cleaner clothes and looked ready to go out with shining smiles on their faces.

"Morning Nami," Reki greeted, equally as bright as everyone else. "How are you feeling after yesterday?"

I remembered that she had spent a lot of time at my side as was sick in the bathroom, then she was at my side again until I fell asleep. She didn't even smoke, afraid that it would make me need to vomit again, and she brought me water whenever I coughed.

I smiled and sat down at her side. "Much better. Thank you for putting up with it all yesterday."

She sighed lightly. "You don't have to keep thinking that you're a burden you know," she said, patting me lightly on the arm. "You aren't a hindrance to any of us, so don't worry about it."

Everyone nodded in agreement I peered around at them all. Each of them had their eyes on me with every word I said, and I was beginning to feel that there was something they weren't telling me.

"Is… everything okay?" I asked nervously. "You all look so happy today."

"Shouldn't we?" Hikari asked from behind the kitchen counter as she cooked up a bowel of porridge for me. "We have a new Haibane in the family!"

I shrugged. "Only me," I mumbled, immediately regretting I had said it. The unnerving feeling of meaning nothing to anyone was affecting me deeply it seemed, and I changed the subject quickly before anyone thought on it too much. "So is anything planned for today?"

They all exchanged glances, their grins widening. They were definitely keeping something from me.

"Just eat up and you'll find out soon," Hikari said as she placed my breakfast in front of me. "Enjoy!"  
I wasn't sure how I managed to find my appetite after knowing for sure that there was a new surprise for me, but I finished before anyone else and was even hungry for seconds when it was offered. I felt the remaining swirl of sickness inside of me fade as the warmth of the meal settled, and I sat back in my chair in a relaxed state.

Once everyone started to finish, they left the room to go and 'prepare,' so I was left with Reki and Nemu.

"We won't be here for your little outing, so have fun whilst we're gone," Nemu said, already rising to go to work. "Lucky girl's, getting the day off," she muttered playfully as she left with a wave.

Once she had gone, I turned to Reki. "What is going on exactly? Where are they taking me?"

She shook her head. "Kana would kill me if I told you before she got the chance. It's nothing to worry about, and they won't be long."

I sighed into my sleeve as I rested my head against my arm on the table. "Is it normal to be really emotional," I asked, deciding that I wanted to know about this sudden loneliness.

Reki looked surprised at the question and hesitated. "Why?"

I felt guilty for asking out of nowhere like this, but it was starting to bring my mood down. "I just feel like so lonely in here." I pat myself over the heart. "Like it's deep beneath the surface where I can't find an answer."

To my surprise, Reki grasped my wrist lightly. "Nami, you understand that we feel things from the 'world outside of here' don't you?"

I stared at her, my blood running cold for a moment. "The world outside?"

She nodded. "Where our families are. You feel it, things left behind from them, but we can't go back. We're here, in this world, to learn and live together."

"So we're… dead?"

She stared at the wall across from us, her eyes no longer able to face mine. "Like I said, we don't really know anything else. All we know is we, as in Haibane, feel things about a life we once had, so maybe. It's not for sure though."

I wasn't sure how to feel after hearing her words. They were so emotionless, cold, _empty. _It made me wonder how badly she missed whatever life it had been.

"Hey, don't let this worry you day," she said, brightening up suddenly and patting me on the shoulder. "It's your third day here, so you should just take it easy. I didn't mean to let you know something like that this early, sorry. I should have waited."

I shook my head. "No, no, it's okay. Thank you for telling me. I like having reasons for everything."

She laughed. "I've noticed."

"Hey!"

I hit her playfully on the arm, but she hit me back twice as hard. We laughed as I clutched at my arm and she finished the rest of the breakfast, telling me about how I needed to enjoy today or else she would hit me again.

I agreed to the conditions, deciding that I needed to stay positive. I couldn't see how today could not be full of laughter anyway with the personalities I had learnt about the girls. I just hoped it would help me forget about these emotions, and that certain persistent one.

We left the table to get changed, Reki for her day ahead with the children that she took care of, and me for the plan that was still to be revealed to me. She lent me clothes again despite my protests. This time I wore a brighter attire of a yellow and brown shirt, a small blue jacket, and a faded purple skirt. Despite the fact that the clothes looked worn and frayed, I was grateful for them and swore that I would return them without a single stain.

Reki smiled at this. "I doubt I would be able to spot any new ones with how many are already there, but okay, try your best."

"I hope you have fun with the kids," I said, remembering that she wouldn't be with me.

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "It's never fun having to force a bunch of little brats to do as their told. When you are that young, the words 'do this' are like poison."

The memory I had of Reki and the old woman whom I presumed to be the House Mother during my escape made me laugh. Reki stared at me questioningly, but I shook my head and blamed it on nerves.

"Don't worry about today," she repeated. "They'll take good care of you, and don't think about what I said before either. It'll only bring you down if you think on it too much." Her tone turned gloomy. "Trust me."

That was something I could definitely do. Once we were both ready we stepped down to the main room to find the rest of the girls had already assembled. They were speaking secretly to one another in hushed voices. Kana was the head of the group, pointing in the air as she referred to an invisible map. Kuu poked her in the arm as I approached and the tomboy swirled around with a large improvised smile on her face.

"Well, well, hello Nami. Looks like you're ready for a big day of shopping!"

"Sh-shopping?" I echoed. My face went red as I stuffed my hands into the skirt pockets. "I don't have any money."

"Don't worry about that," Kana said, waving her hand through the air as though money didn't mean a thing. "The shopkeepers are good people. They'll just ask for a signature and a feather, if they even want that at all."

I glanced back at my wings nervously. "A feather?"

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt," Reki said, plucking one from the charcoal bunch and smirking as I yelped. "See? You barely felt a thing."

Kana looked impatiently up at Reki. "Aren't you due to go and round up those kids? It's our turn with the new girl!"

Reki laughed and gave me a gentle push in the back to beckon me forward. "Be careful with her than, she isn't a toy," she said, flicking Kana playfully in the nose. "I'll be off then so you can have your fun. Keep her safe, and enjoy your free day." She sounded envious and tired at the same time.

We all waved goodbye to her as she left the house in search of the children, and Rakka came over to collect me.

"First things first, we need to get you come clothes of your own," she said as she caught the sleeve of my jacket. "These clothes are way too big for you, but they look good on you. We'll stick with the colours."

Behind her, Kana rolled her eyes. "So you're the fashion expert now?" she asked. "I thought Hikari was the smartest in that area!"

The blonde blushed and smoothed out her casual pale white dress. "Just because I'm the only one that can sow well enough to make an outfit."

"Exactly," Kana said, not even really listening as she was too busy studying me. "You look a little pale," she pointed out, her tone turning to worry. "You have recovered from yesterday, right?"

I nodded, pulling away from her a little incase she checked my temperature. I still had a bit of a fever, but I didn't want it to ruin the day. "I'm alright. I managed to finish breakfast without a fuss anyway, right? I'm sure I can manage."

This seemed to reassure Kana, so she turned towards the door with his finger pointing out to the world that lied outside in wait. "Alright, girls. Let's go shopping!"

*****

I had no idea just how tiring the shopping adventure would be with Kana in the lead. All of the girls followed along with her unbelievable pace easily as I lagged behind. Everytime I began to feel alone again and pushed out of the group, they would slow down and wait for me to catch up, never losing their tempers. It made me feel better about the fact that I still lacked the strength to walk at a normal speed.

The first stop was the clothes shop so I could buy and change into something a little less loose. Hikari and Rakka joined forces to search for something suitable whilst Kana disappeared to find her own outfit. I was left with Kuu whom gripped my hand and took me around to the back corner of the shop.

"What's wrong?" I asked as she hurried us into the quiet shadows. "Has something happened?"

She started to sift through the clothes as she spoke. "I wanted to show you something that I've wanted for a long time, but I'm not allowed to get it because the man that sells these clothes thinks I buy too many." She turned with a pout on her face. "He doesn't understand my needs!"

I had to hide a laugh behind my hand as she spoke like such a grown-up. "That's a little rough," I said. "Does he let you buy anything else here?"

Kuu sighed and nodded. "He let's me get the cheaper stuff, but not this one little desire." She let out a yelp of delight as she finally found what she was looking for and pulled out a little golden dress. It was beautiful, shining in the light with formal lace stitched through the sleeves and collar.

She stared at the ground as she ran her toes shyly over the wooden surface. "I know I seem like a bit of a tomboy like Kana, but I have always liked this dress."

"Kuu, you would look fantastic in that!" I admitted, trying to convince her that it was okay. "I can picture it on you already!"

She smiled. "You want to see it on me? I can try it on as much as I like!"

I was about to comply, but a thought crossed my mind. "Hmm… I have a better idea." Without explaining, I grasped her by the hand and rushed over to the other girls.

Rakka and Hikari were pondering over a pile they had picked out, taking some clothes out and adding others. When they weren't looking, I slipped the dress into the middle and disappeared around the corner with Kuu again.

The young girl looked torn between shock and glee. "Nami, Kana will scold you!"

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. I'll slip it into your room tonight and you can tell them all that you talked the man into letting you buy it so you can't get in trouble, but… why would Kana yell at you?" I asked, realising the confusion midway through my plan.

Kuu sighed and picked at her loose shirt threads. "She thinks I need to learn not to buy so much, that I need to start making new outfits by learning to sow."

I realised that it was probably a good lesson for her to learn and another idea burst into my head. "How about we make a deal? I'll get them to purchase this under my name, and you'll sow the next outfit yourself."

She thought for a long while, clearly despising the idea of sewing, but staring at the visible corner of the dress she had no other choice. We shook hands and set the deal into motion.

Luckily for us, as the girls threw the pile of clothes on to the counter, the man didn't even notice and they were too busy deciding which one I would change into. In the end I was pushed into the changing rooms with a pair of jeans and a red long sleeved top slung over my shoulder.

The clothes suited me well, that I couldn't deny, and neither could the girls as I emerged in my cleaner well-fitted attire. We left the shop with my feather and signature being enough for the purchase, and headed to the café for lunch. Kuu kept her admiring eyes on the bag of clothes the entire way, and cast a thankful wink in my direction when the others weren't looking.

I felt fantastic being able to help one of the girls only on my second day. Part of me selfishly hoped that it would cure my anxieties of lonesomeness inside, but it still churned away. I clutched at my stomach as a wave of sickness swept through me. Would this end?

Lunch was longer than they had expected it to be, but it was memorable. The entire time Kana and Rakka argued about the best tasting food in the entire town and ended up arm wrestling to be crowned the winner. We all judged for the separate rounds as they continually failed to out-do each other. Finally Rakka's arm fell and Kana was champion, stating that the steak and mushroom plate was the best meal to eat.

I barely ate a thing in the restaurant, but luckily the girl's were too immersed in their games to notice. For the first time that day I was grateful for sinking into the shadows.

The next shops were smaller market places for groceries to eat over the week and some extra food for sneaking in at night. They were trusting enough to let me know that they stole secret food into their rooms under Reki and Nemu's noses, and I was quiet flattered that they were willing to entrust me with this.

We left with a basket full of flavoured crackers, chocolate, and cupcakes, eating most of it as we entered the gift shops.

"We need to get you a welcome gift," Kana said in the middle of a small cake, the crumbs falling all over the place shamelessly. "As a welcome to our fantastic family, you know?"

I went red again and shied away from the idea. "You don't have to spend any of your money ticket things on me," I said, struggling with the name of the currency they used, but they wouldn't hear it.

"It's not negotiable when it's an idea of Kana's," Hikari said as the tomboy headed into the shop despite my protests. "Anyway, I think it's a good idea."

I had no other choice but to let them lead me inside and force me to search relentlessly until I found something I wanted.

The little trinkets and toys all had me dazzled and if I had could I would have taken the entire store back with me. I found it hard to decide as I passed little soft animals, statues and rings, until I stopped at the back wall where dozens of necklaces lined the blackboard like medals of honour.

As always, Kana was one step away from me and jumped up at my shoulder. "Found something?"

I gasped and jumped away, falling right into Rakka's arms. She glared over my head at Kana. "Do you have to be a five year old all of the time?"

Kana laughed. "Sorry, but she'll have to get used to it. I can't help it that I have the sneaking skills of a ninja!"

"Oh please," Kuu muttered at my elbow, helping me rebalance. "In the mornings you're about as subtle as a hungry bear, stomping your way down the halls."

Kana looked furious. "B-bear? Take that back, Shortie!"

"Never!"

"Come back here, you!"

Rakka watched the pair disappear out into the street. "Well now that they're gone, what's caught your eye?"

I studied the wall again, tyring to pick out one of the bright choices that stood out the most. It only took me another moment until I found it, a silver wing hanging from a thin matching chain. I pulled it down and studied it, running my finger over the detail of the feathers.

"Nice," Rakka said, pulling it out of my hands. "I'll get it for you seeing as I still have plenty of tickets left." She rose a hand before I could say anything. "It's a gift, so no refusing"

I watched with the mixed emotions of happiness and guilt swaying through me until Rakka returned and spun me around to put the necklace on.

"It wasn't much, was it?" I asked, but she wagged a finger in my face, turning me around again.

"No questions," she said, grinning as she gave me the thumbs up. "It looks fantastic!"

I pressed a finger against the wing and found myself grinning. "Thank you, Rakka," I said, but she had already run to get the other girls and tell them that I had picked out a gift.

Still, despite what they had done for me that day and even the help I had given the poor dress deprived Kuu, that cold feeling inside of me lurked and swallowed up my feeling of belonging, leaving me cold.

*****

On the way back to the house my sickness worsened, but it was no longer stomach pains. Instead my head began to pound and I felt boiling hot. My forehead was coated in sweat by the time we reached the house. I stumbled at the door, my hands shaking too badly to grasp the door knob.

"Hey," Kana gasped, gripping me tightly by the wrist and propping me up straight. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

I gripped my head lightly and let out a deep breath as I struggled to contain myself.

"We should get her inside to rest," Hikari said with evident concern, moving towards the door to open it up for me.

Their worry was appreciated, but I felt like I needed some time alone to think about everything and let it all sink in. I shook my head and stepped away from them as they beckoned for me to enter.

"No, I'm okay. I just feel a little light headed. That gift shop was too stuffy for me." Of course, that wasn't entirely true. Being in that pod for so long seemed to have had more of an affect than I thought it would have. Apparently the illness was supposed to past over a day, so why, after three days, was I still suffering?

The girl's all exchanged looks, trying to decide amongst themselves if it was a good idea to be on my own this early in my new life. Rakka wasn't happy with the idea and shook her head, but Kana shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Rolling her eyes, Rakka looked disgusted. "She could faint or become even sicker! Not to mention she could get lost or travel too close to the walls! Someone needs to be with her."

"I'll go with her," Kuu said, her eyes shining as she looked up at me, her eyes flicking over to the dress. She wanted to show her gratitude by staying with me, but I wanted to be on my own badly enough to turn even her offer down.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to be on my own for a little while, and I need some air. Please let me go. I won't go far, only on the fields where you found me."

I had convinced Rakka and Kuu this time, but Hikari was hesitant.

"Come on, Hikari. You know what it's like when you first come out of the pod and find out all of this confusing stuff," Kana persuaded. "She's smart. She'll stay close."

"What if Reki finds out. She'll kill us."

"She won't find out. We still have over an hour until she comes back."

Hikari sighed and looked over at me again, her face kind but her eyes calculating. "You won't be too long, will you?"

I shook my head and started in the direction of the fields. "I'll be back in 30 minutes or so, don't worry."

The girl's watched me go, wondering if they had made the right decision after all. The clouds in the sky were darkening into a bruised purple and they huddled together in the cold until I was lost from sight.

Finally free of company, I could let my mind wander over all that I had learnt. The heaviest knowledge to hold was what Reki had told me about having a family in the other world that would no longer know who I was.

"I'm forgotten," I muttered to myself. "That's all I am." The self pity came out of nowhere and made me feel even worse. I clutched a hand to my aching stomach, tears welling up in my eyes. Why did I have to find out about the lost family now? It only made my lonely emotions feel worse.

Gazing across the grass, I found that my eyes lingered on the wall almost of their own will. It was a thick grey line of bricks that separated us from… what, exactly? Had the other Haibane mentioned it in the short conversations we had? I was sure that they hadn't.

"My family? Are they waiting over that wall? Would they know it was me if I looked over at them?"

I couldn't approach the wall. That was what had been said, and it was a warning I was going to heed. It felt dangerous just looking at it and I tore my gaze away to focus on something in the distance. Something that was tall and moving across the fields.

Focusing on the object, I realised it was in the shape of a person. They were hunched over and walking slowly as though simply wondering with no other purpose. I felt a longing to know more about them in my current emotional state. I headed down the sloping grass to catch up with them, not focusing on the dangers they might possess. Everyone seemed to friendly an innocent so I couldn't imagine anything different from a travelling stranger.

Upon my approach, they lifted a head tiredly and stared. I slowed down to a stop and wondered if it would be okay to get any closer. They had a hood pulled over their face, but I could see one of their eyes poking out from beneath the shadows. They were bright green and had me transfixed, but they were wide and frightened like a scared animal.

Having no other ideas of what to do, I raised a hand and waved. "Hi!" I called, hoping that the greeting would be returned. Instead, they hurried off in the opposite direction again, leaving to me see their back. I screamed and jumped back in shock.

Protruding from the strangers back were a pair of black wings.

I wasn't sure when I started running or even why, but black wings couldn't mean anything good, right? My feet almost glided through the air as I raced back towards the house, my eyes darting about in fear as though the stranger with black wings would appear before me.

By the time I reached the house I felt sicker than before. My heartbeat was pounding in my head and I collapsed against the doorway, my shuddering hands grappling with the doorknob before giving up and pounding on the door. My breath came out in rasps as I clutched at my aching chest. It was hard to tell which were symptoms of the fever and which were caused from the intense running. Either way, I knew one thing.

Those black wings had me both intrigued and terrified.

Someone had listened to my furious knocks and to my horror, Nemu opened the door. Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open as she stared at me. "Nami, what happened?"

I tried to speak, but my words became caught and made me choke. Instead I used my hands to explain and pointed towards the fields, but as I tried to join on words I broke into a hysterical fit of coughing.

Behind Nemu, I could see Reki approaching quickly, a look of shock on her face. It all became blurred as I grew heavy and fell against the side of the door. Nemu clutched my arm and gently tugged me inside where I fell to my knees and vomited violently against the tiles. My head felt as though it would split and I was shaking in an unnaturally cold state despite the fireplace roaring in the corner.

Reki's face swam into view as she bent in front of me. "You shouldn't have gone out alone!" she growled, but her face softened as she realised it was not the time to scold me. Instead she gently pulled me up then without any protests cradled me in her arms as she hurried me upstairs with Nemu close behind.

"Should I run a bath?" she asked Reki as she kept her eyes on my paling face.

"No," Reki answered in a quiet voice. "It's just the emotions getting to her, and she's still a little sick. I'll get her to bed."

"Is she back?"

I looked up weakly and saw Hikari poking her head out of her room. She looked utterly gutted as she saw the state I was in. "Oh no, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it now," Reki said, racing past her and shouting back, "Get lunch ready with the other girls. I want her to eat something."

Reki took me into my room and rested me on my bed gently. I could still taste the bile and foul taste of the sick and was grateful almost to the point of tears as Nemu handed me a glass of water and a small metal bucket to spit into.

Once I was settled into the bed beneath the blankets, Reki was at my side as she always was, tucking me in whenever the sheets looked loose. I smiled back gratefully, but it was hard to keep my eyes open.

"Do you think you can manage some food?" she asked me as we listened to the clanking symphony of dishes downstairs whilst the girl's shuffled about in the tiny kitchen.

My stomach answered the question with a grumble.

"I guess that's a yes," Reki laughed.

I laid a hand against my head to feel my temperature and frowned. "It's already gone down."

Reki nodded. "It'll do that for a while until you're settled in. You collapsed down there because of the emotional stress of today. You've just come out of the cocoon and need to settle in. It was a stupid decision to let you go shopping today."

"I did have fun though," I said, pressing a finger against the necklace.

Reki inspected it closely. "It's nice. Welcoming gift, right?"

I nodded, but my mind wasn't on the present anymore. Despite trying not to let it, my mind fell back to the black wings. I cuddled myself and let out a weak whimper.

"What is it?" Reki asked, leaning close. "Did something happen out there?"

I let out a shuddering breath and wondered how to explain it without the memory brimming back to the surface. "Reki… can a Haibane have black wings?"

Surprise crossed over her features. Her eyes glided to my own wings, and seeing that they were still a safe grey, she turned away from me to stare at the wall. "There can be, yes. Sinners have them."

"Sinners?" I echoed. "People who do something bad?"

"Sort of," Reki answered. "It's hard to explain, but it affects people who haven't found their path."

I had more questions for her now, but she shook her head before I could ask. However, one blurted out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Can they be saved?"

Reki gave a nod, but her look was sharp. "Don't plan anything, okay? I don't want you with people I don't know. Those girls shouldn't have let you out there in this state. What were they thinking? I can't believe them…"

She continued to speak about punishing the girl's but I was too busy thinking about the stranger to listen. Reki had said that I should stay away from people like her. I had had a feeling she would say something like that.

*****

I had fallen asleep sometime after lunch had been brought in, and this time instead of drowning beneath the wave, I dreamt of blackened wings casting shadows over everything around me. When I opened my eyes I was in a cold sweat, bathed in the moonlight.

I pulled myself out of the bed, untangling myself of the sheets, and peered out of the window. Judging by the slither of light running along the darkened horizon, it was early morning.

Reki had gone to bed instead of staying by my side like usual. She must have assumed I would be alright, but I still felt a little sting of hurt.

Nevertheless, I made my way into the hall and down to the main room where I rested into one of the chairs. I thought about the dream of black wings and wondered about this mysterious person. How had they sinned? I wanted to know. I wouldn't be able to think about anything else unless I did.

Despite what had happened earlier and how much trouble I knew I would be in, I decided to sneak out of the house and find the person with the black wings. I wanted to know all about them. I wanted to help them. Reki said it could be done, and I would find out how.

Being as silent as I could, I gathered myself and left the house, the fields being my desired place to be.


	6. Kozue

**Chapter Six**

**Kozue**

Defying rules was meant to feel good, rebellious and strong, but I only felt guilty and scared. I knew what waited for me when I returned to the house if I wasn't fast enough. Reki's wrath would be unleashed, and I wasn't sure how I could handle being scolded by my closest friend in that house.

But I didn't stop. I couldn't go back now when I had come so far, and I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep without knowing more about this stranger. The tugging urge in my mind was almost unbearable, and this was the only way to be rid of it.

I stumbled along the paved street, almost losing my footing and ending up on my hands and knees. Catching myself, I took a moment to let out a breath. I was nervous, that was clear from my constantly fluttering heart. My body was shaking too, but the cold had an intense bite to it this morning.

Staring around at the frosty surroundings, I realised I was not the only one up at these unmentionable hours. There was a group of small children playing near the well, still dressed in their pyjamas. On their backs were small white wings, and I realised that there were the young feathers that were motioned in the house. Reki took care of them with the House Mother, and I could see why they needed to. I wondered for a moment if I should turn back and let Reki know that they had escaped, but it would put an end to my plan to find the stranger.

Luckily there was a shout and I turned to see the old woman I had seen only once before approaching them quickly with a sour look on her face. She too wore night clothing, and I stifled a laugh as I danced into the shadows out of view. Her night gown as light blue and she wore a matching night hat. At the sight of her, the children burst into laughter and forced her to give chase as they ran in all directions.

I pitied her and would have helped had it not been for my giveaway wings. She would return me to Reki at once, and I was on a mission. I slipped around the nearest shop and took off towards the fields, finally letting out the laughter that had been begging to be freed for some time.

By the time I reached the fields, the thin line of light was thickening, and I started to worry about the little time I had before Reki would awake. After all, I wasn't sure how long she slept in. I didn't know any of their sleeping habits.

I began to speed up as I ran through the fields, the grass gripping at my feet and falling away under the light wind. I kept my eye out for the black-winged Haibane, but they was no where to be found. At least, not out in the fields.

I spied the forest and remembered that they had been coming in that direction. Excitement gnawed at me when I knew that I should be careful and calm. I took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out and waited for my heart to slow down.

"W am I going to do from here?" I asked myself, my eyes prying through the trees of the forest ahead. "If I go into the forest…" I trailed off, wondering how dangerous it was. I could see the shadow of the wall hanging over the trees, and realised how close the two really were. If the stranger lived in there, I would have to get in close contact with the wall, and that was apparently something that the Haibane weren't supposed to do. I had been warned a number of times against it.

I weighed up my options of retuning or continuing. I couldn't just stay out here after all. I had made it so close, and I didn't want it all to be for nothing.

Gnawing at my fingernails, I stepped closer to the forest. No one could see me out here, but as soon as the town began to buzz to life I would be noticed and perhaps reported back to the house. The decision was to me made now, so I agreed with my begging heart and made my way into the trees.

Darkness surrounded me as little light broke through the canopy. I could hear the gentle pattering of rain as a dismal day began. It felt like a bad omen, but I continued through the thick branches, breaking them away with my arm. I soon came to an open path and was grateful for the lack of vegetation growing in front of me.

"How far would they be inside?" I wondered aloud. I began to call through the trees, yelling out 'hello', and receiving no reply. "No choice but to keep going then, I guess."

The wind began to howl and throw the leaves into me, making everything seem eerily alive. By this point I was sure that enough time had passed for my escape to be noticed. I had to hurry, so I broke into a run. Roots grasped at my feet, but I kicked through them as I started to grow nervous. Soon I was racing through at such a speed that I lost my footing and tumbled across the ground. An unfortunately placed tree stopped me as my head cracked against the side and I lost sight of the world.

By the time I came to, my headache had started up again and I felt a warm trickle of blood running down from my forehead to my cheek. I wiped it away and stumbled to my feet, using the tree to keep myself standing. I was not sure how much time had passed, but the rain was suddenly a lot worse and sheeted me heavily.

I was filthy, covered in dirt and mud with leaves and twigs in my hair. I wiped away at the grime and released a strangled sob from my chest. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

A snap from above me caught my attention and my head snapped up to see a shadow in the trees. It looked like a black hunched form bending low on the branch, then a gust of wind blew and revealed those shocking green eyes as it lifted the hood away.

"A-are you alright?" the stranger asked cautiously, their bodies tensed up.

I didn't have the strength to nod. "Y-yes." My eyes were staring at their back where I could see the black feathers dancing in the wind.

The black-winged stranger was a girl whom looked to be about my age. She had equally dark hair that was short and plastered to her paled face. She looked like she hadn't seen light in a long time. The only brightness that came from her were her dazzling eyes.

"You're bleeding."

I pressed a finger to the fresh line of blood. "Oh, yeah. I hit my head pretty hard, huh?"

She nodded in silence, then jumped down from the branch and landed gracefully on her feet some distance before me. She stared at me intensely and I noticed that her hands were shaking at her sides.

"It's okay," I said soothingly. "You don't have to be afraid of me."

She stayed where she was. "You're a Haibane, just like me."

I nodded weakly, my head aching at the movement. "I am. Where are you from?"

"Here. This is where I was born."

I gaped at her. "In this forest? Alone?"

The word seemed to strike something in her and she lowered her head, her eyes going dull. "I have always been alone. That's how I am fated to be."

"Fated?"

She nodded and took a careful step closer to me. "My dreams are of being alone in the darkness with no one to rescue me… What do you dream of?"

She felt the same loneliness that I felt and I wanted to throw myself into her arms and cry. "I dream of waves crashing down on me. Because of this I'm afraid of water."

The girl raised her hands to let the rain trickle down onto them and fill her palms. "I love it when it rains. The sound makes me feel like I'm not without anyone."

"You don't have to be alone in here though," I said, pointing in the direction of the town. "There are people there, my friends. They are Haibane too, and they can help you."

To my surprise, she shook her head. "They wouldn't want me with them," she said, grasping the end of a wing in her fingers. "My black wings would frighten them."

I found myself staring at them again, mesmerised. "I am new to this world and I feel alone too, but they help me through. They are kind enough to ignore the colour of your wings and help you find your path."

She shook her head. "I am better off alone, Nami."

Her use of my name sent a chill up my spine.

"Nami means wave, right?" she said, smiling at my reaction. "So you are Nami, and I am Kozue, tree branches."

I looked up at the spiralling trees above us and smiled. "Kozue. It's a nice name."

Kozue told me about her life here, how she enjoyed the peace but was plagued by the feeling of having no one as well. I knew it too well, but the difference was she had no one at all. I felt terrible for her, but she refused to leave the place of her birth. She said that it was her home, and she would die here no matter what happened. She told me that her black wings would be the death of her, as they were for all sinners.

Blood was still dripping from my face, and she noticed it with a flash of concern. Luckily she was a smart girl and ripped off a strip from her torn jacket. She wrapped it around my head to stop the bleeding and wiped away the blood, smiling. Her touch was warm despite her cold life and I found myself gripping her hand as I tried again to persuade her to at least come to the fields with me.

Again she shook her head with an unwavering patience. "I am sorry, but I cannot leave this place. I am afraid of what lies near the buildings where everywhere is full of sound."

I thought about this seriously. She was afraid of the cure to her loneliness, just like I was afraid to face my own fear of water. I couldn't argue with her, only listen.

She knew of the world outside and the need to find ones path. She told me that she listened to the Haibane at the factory when she sneaked onto the roof. She had learnt all she needed to learn that she was doomed unless her wings became grey.

"Black wings of sinners means that we are bound to this place," she told me. "We do not get to leave like those with charcoal feathers, so we are left here to die with the humans."

I swallowed deeply, having something new to deal with in my head. "I won't let that happen to you, Kozue. I'll help you find your path."

She gave me a look of kindness and squeezed my hand as it gripped hers tightly, but I could see in her eyes that she had lost hope long ago.

The further we stepped into the forest, the fonder I became of this girl. She was so friendly and kind towards me that I didn't want to leave, but I was beginning to feel ill again and also concerned about the time. It was well and truly the later morning now and I was sure the other girls were up.

"I'm sorry Kozue, but I have to be off. Those girls I told you about will be waiting for me, and I don't want to worry them."

She cast me a sorrowful look, and before I could ready myself she pulled me into a tight embrace. "Just come back. You make me feel… less alone."

Her words warmed me and I hugged her back tightly. She also numbed the emotions inside of me and made me feel more welcome in an unknown world.

"I promise I will, as soon as I can," I vowed, then I ran from the forest on sure feet towards the house, leaving her to watch me from the trees.

*****

Reki's eyes didn't leave me as I made my way towards the door. Her gaze made me lower my own and I stared at the ground with every step. Her posture spelt doom for me as she stood with her arms crossed and her mouth in a thin line. The other girl's stood beside her in a row, each either giving me brittle smiles or avoiding my eyes all together.

As I reached the door, Reki approached. I winced and braced myself, waiting for her to scream and yell. To my surprise like earlier in the forest, she flung herself at me and hugged me so tight I could feel my ribs straining.

"Thank God you're safe!" she gasped into my ear. "You have no idea how worried you've had us!"

_Am I off the hook? _I wondered, bringing my arms up to hug her back. "I'm sorry, Reki. I didn't mean to be out so long. I really am sorry…"

She released me and stared into my eyes seriously. "What were you thinking? Where did you go?"

There was a feeling in my gut that made it churn. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell her about the Kozue seeing as she didn't want to be around others, but maybe it was a good idea… At seeing me hesitate, Reki shook my shoulders a little. "I-I wasn't thinking," I admitted sheepishly. "It's just, well…"

"What?" Reki asked, shaking me again. "What wasn't able to wait for us to get up for?"

I subconsciously glanced in the direction of the forest as though asking for the girl's permission. "I wanted to meet the girl with black wings that I saw."

Reki studied me. "You didn't tell me it was a girl."

I bit my lip as I realised my mistake. "I, uh, I guess I, well, found her."

I could see the other girl's gasp and begin to speak to each other as I faced Reki on my own.

"You found her?" she repeated, her voice emotionless. "Did she hurt you? What did she say? Where is she?" She was almost hysterical.

Once I had started to explain, I couldn't stop. I told her everything and ended up speaking to the entire group as they all crowded around us to hear. They found out about my entire search and were all disappointed at my plan to go alone.

"You should have waited," Reki told me, her scolding beginning. "I would have come with you if you had wanted to go that badly. I just didn't want you to go alone, especially after yesterday."

I sunk into myself as she continued, saying it was reckless and she had been worried sick, but she never lost it as much as I thought. She calmed quickly too, but she made me promise that I would not sneak out again.

As I had expected, dinner was almost silent due to what I had done. Reki kept her eye on me as I ate, expecting me to faint due to sickness or emotional overload again, but I shrugged off her fears. The usual conversations didn't pick up until we were almost finished.

"So does this mean that tomorrow is called off?" Kuu asked in a quiet, cautious voice, her eyes shifting from Reki and Nemu.

Nemu shrugged and looked to Reki. "What do you think? She could do with the training."

"Training?" I asked, looking to Kuu. "What do you mean?"

Reki kept on eating for a moment before she answered, her words calm and slow. "I guess I can let you guys go out and try it, but I won't be there, so I am expecting Hikari to be in charge. Oh, and for Gods sake, don't leave her alone!"

Her last words stung me a little, but I figured I deserved it. Anyway, I was too busy trying to work out what was going on. "This isn't another surprise is it?" I asked, staring straight at Kana who shrugged.

"Not if you're dying to know," she said.

"Tell me."

"We thought it would be a good idea try and break you out of your fear," Rakka explained. "So we want to take you down to the lake tomorrow and give you a swimming lesson!"

"It's going to be a little warmer than today, so it should be good," Kana added, glaring out at the rain. "I wish it wasn't so drizzly today!"

The idea had me worried. My heart contracted and I slipped my eyes to Reki. "It'll be good for you," is all she said.

I had changed out of my muddy wet clothes and had my head wound checked by Reki before I came to dinner. She had barely said a thing to me, but she wasn't rude either. It was like she was thinking. She spared a few questions about Kozue to learn more about her, but didn't seem interested in her at all.

Now that the meal was finished and tomorrow was given the 'ok', everyone began shuffling off to bed. Nemu stayed up with Hikari as they often did and spoke about books and the like. I would have stayed to listen, but Reki gripped my shoulder lightly and told me that I needed rest.

She stayed with me as I slipped onto my mattress meaning that she wanted to talk. As I stared up into her puzzled face, I realised how worn out she looked and wanted to apologise again. Unfortunately she waved it away.

"Don't worry about it," she said dismissively, smiling at me. "I know how tough it can be when you are still fresh in this world. Still, what you did scared the hell out of me."

I reached my hand out of the covers and took hers. "I won't do it again. I promised, remember? But Kozue wants me to come and visit her again, and I promised her I would."

Reki's face changed into fear for a moment, then it settled again. "I see. I guess a promise is a promise, but don't forget ours either."

I shook my head. "I won't."

"Hmm… I guess she didn't exactly hurt you, but I'm not sure about you being that close to the wall."

I felt my stomach churn in protest as I knew she was about to say 'no'. "Nothing happened to me before, and she wouldn't let me get too close. She cares about me." I already knew it for a fact, but actually saying it tamed the emotional beats inside of me.

With a sigh, Reki leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling absently. "I guess it wouldn't really be fair seeing as she's also your friend. I guess its okay then."

I exhaled deeply and squeezed Reki's hand in 'thanks'.

"So what about tomorrow," she said, deciding to change the subject. "You're not nervous are you?"

I was, but I didn't want her to worry about me any more than she had today. "I'm fine. I think I can handle it."

"Well Hikari knows what to do if something goes wrong. She knows everything about, well, everything, I guess."

I wanted to keep talking to her and learn more about Hikari and the other girls. It wasn't every night that Reki was this talkative all of a sudden, but unfortunately my eyes were growing heavy.

"You look tired," Reki said, already standing. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning before you go."

As soon as she closed the door behind her, I knew I wouldn't be getting any sleep that night. Kozue was on my mind, alone in the woods, and the swimming lesson tomorrow was already looming. Somehow, though, wrapped in the warm blankets listening to the excitement of my new friends below for the day to come, I managed to find the realm of sleep and fell into the dark.


	7. The Lake

**Chapter Seven**

**The Lake**

When morning came, my eyes were wide open after only one hour of sleep. I wasn't even tired an inch though, because there was simply no room amongst the worry of the waiting lessons. I thought about pretending I was sick or something to stop them from taking me to the lake, but as I thought about it more, I began to understand that they were trying to help me and do me a favour. I couldn't betray that.  
"Nami, you awake?"

Kuu was knocking at my door, and I could hear Kana whispering behind her. "With your voice decibel, I would say she is now."

"Shut up, Kana!"

"I-I'm awake," I stuttered, biting my lip as I headed across the room to the door. "But what do you want me to wear?"

Kana opened the door and held up a bathing suit. "Here, wear this. It's Rakka's spare."

It was a thin light blue swimming suit with a pair of purple shorts. They were a little faded, but I wasn't worried about their appearance.

"They should fit, so get changing," Kana said, clearly excited about today. "Head downstairs when you're done and we'll have a quick breakfast before we leave."

They left me to change into my new clothes and I found it a little tighter that I would have liked. Nevertheless I squeezed into it and found it quiet comfortable once it was on. I slipped a shirt over the top then headed downstairs, trying to ignore the thoughts that I had no way out of this.

Kana had been right about breakfast being quick. We were all done in about ten minutes and gathering at the door. My entire body felt weak and I tried to hide the fact that I was shaking.

"How are you feeling about today, Nami?"

I turned to find Nemu dressed in her librarian garments and headed towards the door.

"Okay," I answered simply.

She caught the touch of nerves in my voice and pat my shoulder lightly. "You'll be fine out there."

"Yeah, Hikari can save you if anything happens!" Kuu announced, peering up at a proud Hikari. "She's the bets swimmer, and she always knows what to do in emergencies!"

"There won't be an emergency."

We all looked up to see Reki stepping down the stairs.

"Will there, girls?" she finished, looking at them all individually. In unison they all shook their heads and she headed to the door with Nemu. "Have fun out there, and Nami, be careful. Please."

I nodded and both her and Nemu left together, leaving me alone with the girls.

"We should be going soon too," Hikari said as she watched them leave. "I still have to pack lunch though.

"I'll help." I wasn't sure if it was the tension that made me volunteer, but either way I found myself wrapping up sandwiches with her as Kuu, Kana, and Rakka chatted about the day ahead.

"You're stressing out, aren't you?" Hikari asked as my shaking finger struggled to grip the wrapping for the food.

I let out a shuddering breath. "A little. It's just, I don't know how to swim, and I hate water, so I don't know how I'm going to do it."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Hikari said as she slung an arm over my shoulders. "I've been trained for accidents so you don't have to be afraid of anything happening out there."

I smiled back at her. She really was knowledgeable about everything it seemed.

Once lunch had been packed away, we left for the lake. As we went out onto the street we ran into Reki whom was bustling the children towards the house with the House Mother. She gave me a reassuring smile as I passed and it made me feel much better about everything as though a rose had bloomed inside of me. If she had told me that I would be okay, then I believed it.

The lake was only some metres from the town and ran through the grass like a shimmering blue-scaled serpent. Thick emerald grass grew thickly around it on the bank and the land rose into a sharp hull before them, meaning that my possible embarrassing attempt at swimming would be out of sight from prying eyes.

My feet were heavy as I stepped down towards the lake. I revelled in the feeling of flat ground as I approached the water, knowing that for the remainder of the day, I would be floating away from it.

"Here we are!" Kana announced as we stopped at the lake edge. We all settled down in the grass and stripped to our bathing gear. Hikari handed out lunch and we ate as the sun beat on our backs.

I was silent as I enjoyed what I could of my meal. I ate very slowly, keeping my eyes on the other girls and noting their excitement. I wished I could be smiling and laughing with them, but the tension was too much for me.

"You're not nervous are you Nami?" Rakka asked as she realised I hadn't uttered a word.

A swallowed a large mouthful of bread and cheese and cast my eyes away without answering.

"It's going to be fine!" she continued, patting my arm. "We'll take baby steps all the way!"

"That's right," Kana included, pointing to the water. "We won't take you past the shallows until you're absolutely ready. How does that sound?"  
Honestly, it sounded a lot better and a smile even appeared on my face. "Alright then, but are you sure you're willing to wait that long?"

They all nodded together. "Course," Kana said brightly. "We wouldn't force you into anything like that, because then you wouldn't have a hope at all of conquering this fear."

It was a good point. I was beginning to feel confidence build up inside of me and banish the fear. Maybe I could do this after all.

We finished lunch and headed into the water. Everyone went in before I did so they could help me in. I took their hands and slipped into the water, letting out a gasp at the traumatic cold.

Kuu laughed as I started to shiver. "Walk around along the bottom and you'll warm up. Soon it'll feel really nice."

I did as she said and moved my body around the lake with the other girls. Sure enough it started to heat up and I could relax and let my uncertainties ease off of me. It was like the water was magic, the way it made me feel so calm and relaxed.

Once I was ready, the lesson began. Kana led me along the edge of the bank, every now and then easing me a step deeper. I could feel my toes beginning to slide away from the dirt beneath and kicked out in terror. Kana took care of me though. As soon as I started to panic she pulled me back into the shallowest areas and we started again.

Her patience amazed me and I was very grateful for it, but Kuu was a little wilder than Kana had been.

"Let's go deeper!" she said as soon as she took my hand from Kana's. "I think you're ready!"

I let out a whimper, but I allowed myself to be dragged away by the younger girl. She took me out to the middle of the lake where I could no longer find the lake floor. Thankfully Rakka joined us and helped hold me up.

"Lean back really slowly," Kuu instructed.

"But I'll drown!" I panicked.

"You won't," Rakka reassured me. "We'll hold you up until you're ready to float on your own."

I trusted these girls, so I allowed them to take me into their arms and slowly lifted my feet and let my body fall back. They help me onto the surface until slowly their hands began to ease away. My body pulsed with fear as they moved away from me on either side, but I realised I wasn't falling to the lake bottom. I was floating!

"I did it!" I gasped, flipping to let my feet seek the ground again. "I did it!!"

Like any teacher, they were proud of my work. I was brimming with confidence now and I even decided to stay in the centre of the lake. I tested the depths as I took careful steps backwards and forwards.

"I told you that you could do it!" Kana said happily as she swam over to me and clapped me on the shoulder. "And you were all worried and panicky!"

I felt silly having acted like that and admitted it with a laugh. "This feels amazing though! I don't know why I was so scared in the first place!"

I found out the reason a moment later. In all of my excitement I didn't realise that I was letting myself float further out away from the centre and towards the depths. I saw the stricken faces of the girls, and I struck my feet down towards the bottom. Instead I found nothing, only water, and I fell beneath the surface.

I had mastered floating and moving through the water with my feet on the muddy floor beneath, but not actual swimming. Bubbles clouded me in a thick sheet as I disappeared into the darkness of the lake.

"Crap! Where'd she go?" Kana cried, swimming over to the last place she had seen Nami. She dove beneath the surface and searched, but there was only the muddle darkness surrounding her.

Rakka was shivering despite the warmth of the lake water. "Oh no, we can't let her drown! We have to find her!"

Kana resurfaced and shook her head. "I can't see a thing down there! All the mud has been stirred up!"

Kuu gripped Rakka's hand. "Rakka, she'll be okay, right?"

The brown haired girl didn't answer.

Hikari searched with Kana, diving with her into the depths, but everytime they came up again, they hadn't seen a thing.

"That's it, I'm going straight to the bottom!" Hikari said, preparing to dive.

Kana caught her arm. "What if you get tangled up in weeds or something? It's too deep!"

Hikari pulled her hand away calmly. "I was put in charge today by Reki. I have to find her." With that, she disappeared into the water.

The deeper Hikari swam, the worse her sight was. She might as well had kept her eyes closed, but they were wide open and searching for the familiar girl. She had to be close. This was where she had fallen.

Two things flashed through Hikari's mind that kept her searching: Reki's distraught face and Nami's smile. They were both her friends, and she couldn't let them down.

Spurred on by the thought, she reached out and found the muddy floor of the lake. She righted herself and searched through the murky waters, her eyes taking in everything.

Then she saw her.

Nami was floating on her back, completely motionless with her eyes closed. If it wasn't for the water Hikari would have cried at the sight of her stilled friend. She rushed over and caught her around the back with one arm, then kicked herself towards the surface with Nami cuddled to her chest.

Rakka, Kana, and Kuu kept their eyes on the ripples that remained from Hikari's descent. They waited and waited with baited breath until Kana couldn't take it anymore and poised to dive.

Kuu soft hand caught her own. "Be careful."

With a weak smile, Kana nodded then dove into the water. It took her only a second to see Hikari lugging up an unconscious Nami and she swam over to help. The pair of them pulled their friend up to the surface where Rakka and Kuu both exchanged glances of fear.

"Is she breathing?" Rakka asked, helping them to drag Nami towards the bank with Kuu in the lead.

"I don't know yet," Kana gasped, holding the girl up by the shoulders and swimming backwards. "Let's just hope so."

As one group they pulled Nami across the water until they reached the bank. Rakka and Kuu pulled the motionless girl up onto the grass as Hikari and Kana climbed out at the sides. Once they were all on the shore they pulled her out of the long grass to a flatter area where they could rest her down.

Hikari took charge like they had all expected and knelt at Nami's side as they all gave her room, waiting nervously.

She rested her ear against Nami's chest, listening for a beat as the images in her head haunted her. She found it after a moment, a weak pulsing of her heart that struggled against her rib cage.

"She's alive!" Hikari cried out, as shocked at the fact as the other girls. She laid a hand before Nami's nose to try and feel her breath. When it didn't come, her rising heart plummeted. "But she's not breathing," she added, turning a paled face to the others.

Kana took in a deep breath as she remembered Nami's awakening that had almost been the death of her. She had been lying on the bed, her head in Reki's lap as her body refused to breathe. "It won't happen again," she said aloud to herself, dragging herself over to Nami and looking up into Hikari's teary eyes. "Hikari, you're smarter than all of us. Please, do something!"

Hikari swallowed and stared down at her newest friend. She was pale and her lips were blue. She needed air, and it was up to Hikari.

I could hear voices, but they were weak and blurred. It was like hearing them through a thick wall, and I wondered if I was back in the house. Then I remembered falling through the water. My body felt thick and heavy, and I couldn't move an inch.

"What are we going to do?" Rakka said somewhere from the left.

"Hikari, you know what to do, right?" Kana asked from the opposite. "You've been trained for this sort of thing, haven't you?"

Hikari's voice sounded so scared, I wanted to comfort her.

"Did her hand just twitch?" Kuu asked, her voice the weakest.

I tried to move her arm, but it felt dead. Water burned in my lungs and it needed to come out. I tried to cough, but there was not enough strength in it.

"Hikari, we're running out of time! Please!" Kana cried out, revealing a voice filled with fear. It was a Kana that I didn't know.

Hikari let out a strangled sob, then took a breath to keep herself together. I felt her grasped my face, then her fingers pinched my nose, blocking off the little amount of air I was trying to take in.My body trembled as I tried to cough out the water inside of me. I needed to breathe…

Hikari jerked back, stunned, as I coughed up the water in my lungs. My chest heaved as I took in lungful after lungful of air. My body was still trembling as I struggled to rid every drop of water inside of me. The girls flipped me onto my side and it all came out in a thick messy puddle.

Time went slowly for me as I took in those much-needed breaths of air. I felt as though I had fallen out of the cocoon again. I remembered everything, slipping on the cold floor, fighting against the darkness, seeing Reki's face before my consciousness fled…

"Nami? Oh, Nami, please be okay." A gentle hand held my shoulder as my pounding heart began to calm. Hikari's face appeared in front of mine as she bent over me. She was still soaked with water, and a small hopeful smile flashed over her worried face. "Are you okay?"

My body was freezing and I could barely move, but I was alive and breathing again. No loner in the water, I felt safer than I ever had before in my fresh life. "I'm alright," I said with as much strength as I could, which was little more than a strangled croak.

Several hands helped me to my feet, and matching faces appeared before me in a blur. Rakka, Kana, Kuu, and Hikari all stared at me as though I would collapse at any minute. Rakka's arm went around me in a tight hold. "We need to go back," she said as she led me away from the lake. I wouldn't have made it a single step if she hadn't been holding me.

The others followed closely, each voicing their own thoughts.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Kuu said quietly, casting her eyes to the lake again as she looked over her shoulder.

"Maybe," Hikari agreed softly.

Kana sighed. "Reki's going to kill us."

I shook my head. It took more strength than I had expected it to. "It wasn't your fault… I'm the one who panicked…"

I felt Rakka's hand tighten on my ribs and turned to see her smiling at me weakly. "Don't blame yourself. I think it was going really well."

These girls made me feel much better about myself, about my mistakes and weaknesses. I truly was happy with them, but against my will I began to think of Kozue again, all alone. How I wished she would come out of the trees. _"I am always alone. That is how I am fated to be." _Her words rang in my mind. Fate certainly was cruel.

It took some time to reach the house again. The other girls were frightened about Reki's wrath once she found out how the swimming had gone, but lying about it wasn't an option as we all agreed. Partly out of the guilt we would share, and partly because she always knew when they were lying.

Kana opened the door first, revealing the main room with only Reki present. She sat at the kitchen table, lighting a cigarette as her mind wandered. She didn't even realise as we stepped inside. She looked alone, but content. She was a proud woman from every angle, but she had a past that surfaced sometimes. I felt this was one of those times.

"Um… Reki?" Rakka was the first to speak.

Reki's head turned and upon seeing us she smiled, then she realised that Rakka's arm was supporting me and she leapt to her feet, all in a matter of seconds "What happened?" she asked quickly, stepped over to me and peering closely as though the answer was printed on my face.

All eyes went to Hikari as she was the best speaker, and she took a deep breath before she plunged. "Nami almost drowned, but don't blame her. We're the ones who weren't keeping a good enough eye on her."

Their heads fell, and I wished I could take the blame instead of them. It seemed that they were constantly getting in trouble because of me.

Reki's eyes studied me again before she turned to look at the other girls one at a time. At first she looked mad enough to shout and yell, but slowly her demeanour relaxed and she let her shoulders droop. "As long as she's okay, than don't worry too much about it. However, I hope you all know how important it is now to watch her carefully."

They all looked a little surprised that they had been let off, but I knew that they would have a talking too later. That was the way Reki did things, I learnt. She dealt with fixing the problem first, then the served out punishments.

Not daring to say anything else, the other girls simply nodded their heads in agreement that they had learnt a valuable lesson and shuffled off to prepare food to warm them up. Reki took me up the stairs towards the bathroom, her arm replacing Rakka's around my waist.

"I can walk now," I told her softly, my voice still weak. "It's alright."

She loosened her grip, but didn't let go until we were in the bathroom. She sat me down at the edge of the bath and pulled a number of towels off of a drying rack. She donned them over my shoulders and wrapped them around me as my fingers shook too badly to grasp the ends myself.

"Do you feel okay?" she asked me. I could tell that she was trying not to release her true worry upon me or the other girls as there was an edge to her voice. They were definitely going to get it later.

"I'm okay, you don't need to worry," I told her sincerely.

She shook her head and smiled. "With you, I always have to worry."

I pouted. "Gee, thanks."

She laughed and she began towel-drying my hair. "You know, I'm going to go easy on them this time because they were so excited to be teaching you to swim, and I think it's a good idea."

I raised my head in surprise. "I think they'll be very shocked when you don't scold them."

"Don't get me wrong, I will be talking to them about it, that's for sure. I will be warning them about how dangerous it was to go out alone with you, but part of that fault lies with me." She sighed and ran a free hand through her hair. "Sorry, Nami. I should have come."

I shook my head beneath the towel. "No, it's alright. Maybe next time?"

"Next time?" She stopped drying me for a moment and stared at me with a raised eyebrow. "You want to go again?"

I shrugged my shoulders, unsure myself. "I guess I want to battle my weaknesses."

"And you want to talk to that girl about it."

"Kozue," I corrected absently, realising that I would enjoy telling her about my swimming lessons.

"Yeah, Kozue." She rubbed her chin with her thumb, thinking. "So she's all alone up there, huh?"

"She won't come down. She says it's how she has to be, and she dreams about being alone all of the time."

Reki released another sigh and dropped the towel from my head. "You're free to go, but may I suggest going to bed? You look exhausted. Have you had more dreams?"

I nodded my head slowly. My eyes were already dropping at hearing the word 'bed'. "I don't think I'm ever going to lose these dreams."

"Don't say that. Like I said, we're all here for you." Reki's smile warmed my heart and gave me the faith that I always seemed to be lacking. I took it gratefully from her and placed it in my heart where it was needed the most.

"I think I will take you up on your offer of going to bed," I decided, standing from the side of the bath. I rocked a little on my feet as the lake had drained me off most of my energy, but Reki held onto me and led me from the bathroom. She helped me into my pyjamas and slipped me into bed. She was so motherly that I wondered if this truly was the way families were supposed to feel. I basked in the feeling as she pulled up the covers and switched off the light.

"Nami?"

I looked towards her silhouette in the darkness. "Yeah?"

"It's okay to come to me if you have a nightmare, even if it's in the middle of the night."

I smiled to her from across the room. "Got it."


	8. Flight

**Chapter Eight**

**Flight**

A week had passed, a week of family, friendship, and nightmares.

Every night, I had seen flashes of the wave in the ocean, felt its strength as if fell down on me in it's crushing weight. I woke up more than once with Reki soothing me. I hadn't needed to go to her, for apparently my screaming was getting worse, and she heard me through the walls.

The girls came everyday they weren't working, and we would go shopping or cook and clean together. No matter what we did, the feeling of belonging was strengthening more than I ever thought it would.

My visits to Kozue continued even thought Reki seemed a little worried about my safety. On more than once occasion she offered coming with me to see her, but I told her she would rather it if I came alone as she was only used to me. Reki still watched me closely and asked me to tell her whenever I was leaving to visit my friend. It hurt me somewhat that she didn't trust me enough to stop herself from worrying, but it also proved that she cared.

One particular day she was still tired from staying up all night to coax me back to sleep. I had woken up gasping for air and pushing at her hands that had been the lashing waves of water in my dream world. She had exhausted herself calming me down, so I took the opportunity to leave her alone for the day so she could catch up on sleep. She allowed me to spend my time with Kozue, so I raced through he fields towards the forest with anticipation. It had been two days since I had seen her as the houses had undergone some spring cleaning, but now I could finally tell her about how happy I was with my new family. I even considered asking her to join us again in Old Home where she wouldn't have to be on her own.

Once in the trees, I started to cry out her name. "Kozue! Are you here?" She didn't reply, so I ran further into the depths, my eyes scanning the trees. "Kozue?"

Her voice answered, but the words sent a shiver down my spine. "Go away. Leave me alone, Nami."

Confused, I followed the voice to the nearest tree and peered through the branches. I could just make out her shape sitting on one of the branches, hugging her knees to her chest.

"What's wrong, Kozue?" I asked, my heart pumping fast in my chest. She had never been this upset. "Did something happen?"

She turned to face me, a scowl on her face. "Didn't you hear me? I don't want you here!"

I stood my ground. One of my friends was in trouble, and I didn't want to leave her like she was. "It's dangerous up there, so why don't you come down and tell me on the ground. Please, I just want to help."

Kozue listened to me and fell to the forest floor, landing neatly on her feet, as sure-footed as ever. However, as she raised her face and her hair parted, I was faced with an expression of twisted rage. "I am not in the mood for you, Nami! Not now, or ever!"

I staggered back from her, shocked. "What do you mean?" I gasped. "I… I thought we were friends."

She scoffed and turned her back to me, her shoulders tense and pressed together. "I can't get rid of these nightmares, the taunting voices that run through my mind, telling me I'll always be alone! I can't sleep, Nami! I can't… I can't be with anyone…" She began to tremble and I heard her sobbing quietly as she took a step away.

"Kozue, I know what it feels like," I said softly, taking a step towards her. "Please, don't shut me out." I caught her shoulder lightly and turned her around to see her face. She cried out in anger and pulled away from me, her hand lashing out and slapping me across the face.

Everything stood still.

Never had I been hurt so emotionally and physically. I stared back at her, my eyes wide and my hand pressed to my cheek. "Kozue…"

"Go away!" she roared, her eyes blazing. "I'm not fit to be with anyone!" She turned and fled into he trees, and I didn't follow. I stood on wobbly knees and felt a tear slide down and sting against my cheek.

I ran through the town without stopping, even as people had to leap aside to move from my path. All I could think about was the lost friendship with Kozue. I knew how painful it was to have the dreams, and how frustrating, but the way she had taken it out on me meant only one ting: She wanted to be alone completely without even me by her side.

As I raced through the streets, I realised I needed somewhere to let out the sorrow that was gnawing at me. I searched for somewhere quiet and solitary. Immediately the largest building caught my eye. The clock tower, the loneliest place in the town. Only Kana and the old man worked there, but I wasn't thinking about them. I was thinking of the dark corners inside that would serve my purposes perfectly.

The clock tower was open to everyone, not that anyone was interested. I rushed through the door, the tears still spilling and spotting the floor. I leaned against the shut door for a moment, shaking and struggling to come to terms with what had happened in the forest.

"Hey, aren't you Kana's friend?"

I looked up to see the old man staring at me, his face placid. I was in no mood to listen to the old man take his tone with me, for I knew his temper was thin. I ran past him towards the stairs that shadowed the pair of us, and climbed three at a time. Behind me, I could hear him calling me back, but I ignored. I needed to find somewhere quiet and lonely where I could lick my wounds inside.

I was too busy staring down at the wooden steps beneath me that I didn't even see Kana coming down. We collided and my legs gave out beneath me. I began to fall backwards, my panic switching from Kozue to my own life in an instant. Thankfully, Kana was fast, and she caught my forearms tightly, jerking me upright.

"Nami? Why the rush?" she asked in surprise as she clutched onto me lest I lose my balance. She noticed my teas and frowned. "What's wrong?"

What was wrong? Everything. I hadn't realised how much I cherished Kozue's friendship until now, and my heart gave a longing ache. I wanted to go back and demand to know why she had treated me so, but there was no way I could face her anger again. I was stuck, and I slumped to the step beneath me in defeat.

Kana fell beside me, staring at me closely. "Nami, what is it? You can tell me."

I truly believed that I could tell her, but my mind was screaming at me that there was no way to fix this, that there was no point. I shuddered and pulled my knees up to my chest, remaining silent.

Kana's arm fell over my shoulders and she pulled me closer. The sisterly gesture made the pain lessen. "Nami, we're family now, you know. Whenever something happens, you can tell any of us." She hesitated for a moment. "If you want, I can take you back to Reki and you can talk to her about it."

She wanted me to trust her enough to let her know what had happened, I realised. I couldn't let her feel that she wasn't important to me. I straightened up and swallowed down another sob. "Alright, I'll tell you."

I told her about Kozue's outrage in the forest, and her attack. Kana cupped my chin and inspected the red mark on my cheek, clucking her tongue. She didn't understand any better than I did, but her idea startled me.

"I'm coming with you to see what's wrong with her than," she decided rather stubbornly, getting to her feet and holding out a hand to offer me help.

I stared up at her in surprise. "Are you sure? I don't think she wants to see me."

Kana bent down and yanked up my hand, dragging me to my feet. "Trust me, she will. From what I've heard about her, you're too important to her to lose. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you back."

I took her word for it, and we left the clock tower for the forest. The old man thankfully allowed Kana to leave her work for a while once he was the state I was in, and we headed out together.

Once back in the forest, I felt more at edge than I had before since my life had began. I felt my legs wobble as I walked, and my stomach tied itself in painful knots.

"Is this worse than when you were at the lake?" Kana asked as she held onto my shaking hand.

I nodded my head weakly. "Much worse."

We became swallowed by the thick shadows, and the silence engulfed us. I knew that if I spoke, my voice would be heard throughout the entire forest. I held my tongue. I was torn between wanted Kozue to appear, and wanting her to remain hidden. I wasn't as sure as Kana was that she would regret her earlier actions.

I had only a moment of these doubts before my answer came. A shadow flew down from the trees and thudded against the leaf-strewn floor. Kozue lifted her head and her eyes shone with tears. She slowly made her way over, her arms out in an embrace. "Nami… I'm so sorry…"

Relief flooded through me, and out of the corner of my eyes I was Kana smile, as if saying _I told you so. _Without another second I threw myself into Kozue's arms. "It's alright, don't worry about it. I'm just glad were still friends."

By the time both Kozue and I separated from each other, Kana had sat upon a long, thick log and the sky head begun to darken with rain. I stood facing Kozue, my hand on her shoulder as she sniffled back tears.

"I supposed I owe you an explanation," she said with a small smile.

I nodded and sat down on the forest floor, patting a space beside me. "It's okay. You can tell me everything."

She took a breath before she began and her body noticeably relaxed. "I can't stop dreaming of the darkness, Nami. I dream that I'm completely alone, lost in the trees. No matter how many times I call out, no one comes. And when I wake, the feeling remains."

I took her hand gently in my own, entwining my fingers with hers. "You're never alone, Kozue. I understand that you want to stay up here in this forest, but I will always come and stand beside you. Don't ever think that you're alone, because I'll be here." The words flowed out of me and I couldn't stop them even if I had wanted to. The truth was hard to hold back, and I was happy to finally share it with her.

Kozue's eyes lit up, and she gripped back on my hand. "Nami…" She didn't have to say anything. Her gratitude was written all over her face. Even as the rain began to fall gently, we remained, sitting together in our quiet company.

"Nami, we should get going. Reki would be making dinner now, and I need to get back to my shift." Kana spoke gently, knowing that this moment meant a lot to both me and Kozue.

"It's alright," the black haired girl said as she turned to me and released my hand. "I believe you, Nami. I know I'm not alone now."

It would take me some time to realise that after I had left, her halo became a little harder to see.

Back in the house, things unfolded in a way I wasn't expecting. Reki was furious having not agreed to letting me stay out with Kozue that long, and as soon as she saw the mark on my cheek, she looked straight to Kana whom had been allowed to leave work for the day.

"What happened to her?" Reki demanded.

Kana went rigid as the woman's blazing eyes set on her. "I-It was Kozue. Sh-she lost her temper, but it's all alright now!"

Reki's eyes widened at the mention of Kozue. She had never been completely fond of the idea of me spending time with her as she was a stranger, and now I could see the words coming before I heard them.

"You won't be seeing that girl anymore, Nami," she said almost gently, holding back on her rage as much as she could. "I'm sorry Nami, but she's gone too far."

Kana leapt to my rescue. "Reki, please. The two of them are really close, and they rely on each other for comfort. I think Nami needs another person as well as all of us. You know how hard it is once you've just been born."

Reki's eyes flashed between the both of us, and then she turned around. The rest of the girl's had cleared out as soon as we had come home. Reki had wanted to unleash her anger on her own.

With her back to us, she spoke. "No, Nami. I won't have something like that happen again. Now go and get some sleep before the emotion become too much for you."

My world that had just been stitch back together tore open again, and everything shattered around me. I turned on my heel as sobs built up in my throat and bolted towards my room. It was only when I was in bed did I let myself fall completely into the sadness and cried into my pillow. Kana knocked on my door, but I wouldn't let her in. Ten minutes later Reki began knocking, but I refused her as well. I had lost a dear friend, and no one understood the pain of losing someone who became so important at the beginning of such a trial. My new life was difficult to face alone, and without Kozue, I felt I had lost part of my small family.

Hours passed and the rest of the house fell silent. Everyone was sleeping, and I began t o plan on how to fix everything in my solitary opportunity.

In the end, the answer was simple. I would run away from the house this night and find Kozue. I would explain everything to her, and together we would think of something. Together, we were at our strongest points.

Facing the window, I looked out at the rain beneath the darkened sky. It would be dangerous out in this weather, and the emotional day was draining my energy already. However, I would not back down. I needed to see Kozue, and I felt she needed to see me.

I slipped through the halls in silence and stepped down the stairs with light feet. I could hear the snores of the other girl's, and Reki's harsh breathing as she slept uneasily. I quieted my steps even more, and as I entered the main room, I rushed to the door and ran out into the night. If they had heard me, they wouldn't have the time to catch up to me before I was lost in the darkness.

I raced into the trees, the rain soaking into my skin and pressing the clothes harshly to my body. I felt as though I was drowning under the onslaught of the weather, and the constant feeling of being followed made my heart beat in my throat.

"Kozue!" I cried out numerous times to the wind. "Kozue, please come out!" Only the darkness answered me, and I ran on.

Then I saw it.

A bright wall of light burst to life in an opening just ahead, in the area where I had sat with Kozue that day. Forcing my slow, tired body to move, I rushed into the area just as the light began to fade. I had to shield my eyes, and was temporarily blinded. I cried out and fell, my feet catching on a root. In the grass and mud, I forced my head up and saw nothing. Just the darkness, and a single black feather.

Kozue's day of flight had come. I remembered telling her that she wasn't alone. She had believed the words in her heart, and thus had been released. I had saved her, and her feather was her final farewell.

I wept. I wept so hard that my entire body shook with the sobs. My tears stained the earth. My wings folded against my body for the only warmth I could manage. At some point I heard a voice calling out, desperate and panicked. Reki's face appeared in the trees, and her eyes opened wide as she saw the state I was in.

Several pairs of hands gripped me and pulled me away from the mud. I screamed and cried. I screamed for Kozue, screamed for her to come back. The tears spilled from me, and I saw the blackness pressing in. I wasn't scared though. The arms that held me were Reki's, and she cradled me tightly.

"Hold on, Nami!" I heard her gasp, the voice echoing in my mind. "Everything will be alright."

I closed my eyes, wishing very hard that it was true.


	9. Facing Fears

**Chapter Nine**

**Facing Fears**

Kozue's flight had shattered me. She had been a part of my family, a circle of warmth surrounding my heart. Now a piece of it had shattered, and the cold was seeping in.

That night, Reki had run into the house with me, Nemu being the only one she allowed to follow her for the search. The other girls had stayed behind in the house and watched from the windows. Upon seeing Reki and Nami return with me almost unconscious, they sprang into action and grasped piles of towels, prepared a bed, and took a hot soup out of the microwave that had been cooking away. Later when I was in bed they would be thanked by a proud Reki for thinking ahead.

Reki had burst into the room, kicking it open with her foot. She was directed upstairs to the clean, re-made bed with Nami following in tow, towels under her arms as she carried the soup. I was laid amongst the warm covers, my mind reeling with Kozue's sudden departure. Towels were surrounding me as I was dried, then hands gently laid me back down and a wet rag was laid against my head. Minutes passed and the bowel was pressed into my hands.

"I… can't… I gasped," finding it hard to speak. I didn't feel sick, just extremely tired. The emotion was draining me, but not just because I was still a new Haibane. I knew that if I had been here for years, Kozue's passing still would have had the same effect.

"Try," Reki demanded, her voice edged with anger. She must have been so worried, and I felt terrible for making her feel so.

I forced myself to swallow the salty liquid, and it burned as it ran down my throat. Reki tilted the bottom of the bowel, forcing more into me as I attempted to turn away. I swallowed another mouthful, and she allowed me to finally lie back down. I heard her place the bowel on the bedside table, then a weight fell onto the space beside me. She sat, staring across the room in silence.

"Reki," I whispered, reaching for her hand through the covers. I grasping it, my fingers curling over hers. "I'm sorry."

Her jaw tightened and she squeezed my hand back. "I know. Just get some rest for now, Nami. We'll talk later."

Now I was awake, and she was coming down the hall. I could hear the sound of her feet against the wood, and waited for her wrath. I didn't know if I could take it, not after Kozue, but I had to try. I didn't want to break in front of her.

She appeared in the doorway a second later, smiling through the darkness at me. She flicked the switch, and stepped closer to the side of the bed. "Feeling better?"

There was no note of anger in her voice, but I was cautious. "Yes, a little," I replied, truthfully feeling just as terrible as I had before.

She seemed to understand that it was no true, for she settled onto the bed beside me and faced me with glistening tears in her eyes. "You had me scared, Nami. Scared out of my mind."

I winced as I saw the pain in her face. "I know. I'm sorry."

She let out a long, deep breath before she spoke again. "Nami, I am sorry about Kozue. I know that she meant a lot to you."

My heart lurched into my throat. "Yeah," I managed. "She… I wonder if she knew."

"She did," Reki said with strong determination. "If she didn't, she wouldn't have left this behind for you." She dug her hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out a black feather, the feather I had seen on the ground once the light had dispersed.

My eyes widened and I reached out to take it from her. My hand shoot as it grasped at the soft reminder.

"She left it for you," Reki said. "It's a reminder, so hold it close."

I did. I laid it in the pocket of the jacket that I wore, and soon Hikari came up to serve me my breakfast. She told me that she could tie it to a chain and I could wear it around my neck. She thought it may look a little odd, but I loved the idea.

The aching inside of me began to dull as the day progresses. The other girls stayed silent about the ordeal, and I, of course, didn't want to press out sympathy. I was fine with pretending that nothing had happened on the outside, and on the inside I could deal with the grief.

Nemu had a plan that she voiced as we all sat down at the table for lunch. "Why don't we go down to the lake today?" she asked, making everyone freeze in surprise.

Reki stared hard at her. "Why?" she asked, glancing over at me.

"Nami, didn't you want to face your fear?" Nemu asked, shrugging. "If you don't want to do it today, its fine, but I thought it might make you feel a little better if you accomplish something like that."

I could see the happy smile on my face, and I could imagine the pride that Kozue would have if she was watching like Reki had explained to me a little earlier. She told me that they watched from above, and cheered us on as we fought through the struggle to join them.

"I would love to," I answered, looking to Reki. "Of course, only if you will allow it." I was playing two cards. On the one hand I would get to try out with swimming again and make everyone happy, including Kozue, and on the other hand, I was letting Reki know that I would follow her instructions now by asking for her permission.

My plan worked, and Reki gave in. "Alright, but we're all coming this time. No accidents, right girls?" She gave the others a piercing look and agreements immediately rang.

The lake was as terrifying as it had been the first time, and I felt my breath catch as the wind rippled the edges. I stepped back in surprise, but Nemu caught my arm and reassured me with a smile.

"It's going to be okay. We're all here."

We were lined up at the edge of the lake. Everyone was wearing their swim wear, even Reki who had chosen an old shirt and pants that wouldn't be missed. She took me out first, guiding me with her hand clamped over mine as we stepped into the cold.

"Small steps until your ready," she told me, keeping me close. "We won't go too deep until you want to."

Despite being afraid, my mind stayed on one thing. Kozue was watching me. That very belief fed me hope, and I stepped further into the water, feeling it lap at my knees. "Deeper," I said. "Let's go deeper."

The others watched from the edges as Reki led me further. They followed slowly, giving us the distance we needed, ready to come in if something went wrong. They were all cheering me on as I stepped further into the lake.

Water was like a creature clawing up my body and threatening to consume me. If I fell into its clutches, I couldn't breathe, and the only way to survive was to learn to fight back, to learn to swim. To me, hat was everything, and since Kozue had passed, it was everything and more.

I walked until my feet shifted from the ground and couldn't reach it again. I panicked and kicked out, but Reki caught my arms. "It's alright, I'm right here."

I waded out with her, kicking my feet gently in the water. It began to warm up, and I lost some of the terror from the cold. The others swam with such confidence. They weren't afraid, so why was I? It didn't make sense, and I started to realise that maybe there really was nothing to fear. Reki wouldn't let anything happen to me.

Reki pulled me out a little further, keeping the eye-contact strong as though expecting me to suddenly cry out ,"No! Too far, too far!" but even as I felt my hold slipping from hers, I didn't tell her to stop.

The water pulled out hands apart and she reached out in surprise to grasp me again. I fell like a rock, away from her safety without having a moment to reach out and hold onto her. I fell through the water, hearing only pressure, seeing only bubbles. My heart didn't hammer though, and nor did I attempt to scream. I wasn't scared, and as she haze passed, I realised why.

Kozue was there, swimming beside me with her hand reaching out to mine. There was a smile on her face, something I had rarely seen. It lit up her features, and she was happy for once in her life. We were both happy. I took her hand, then blinked tiredly. My body was getting heavy, my lids sliding shut.

A hand gripped my wrist tightly, and another pair caught my waist and heaved me up. I opened my eyes. It was Reki leading me to the surface, not Kozue. What did this mean? I knew the answer inside. I always had.

I broke to the surface of the water like shattering glass and took the breath that my lungs had suddenly burned for. I couldn't find balance in the water and fell forward into Reki's arms, my head splashing against the water. I snapped back as the water hit me with its sudden cold and I turned to look up at a worried Reki. She had me floating in her arms so I would fall back down into the depths, and I pulled myself closer to her.

"Are you alright, Nami?" she asked urgently, one of her hands lifting and pulling my head up away from the water. "Nami, answer me!"

The other girls had surrounded us, all of them looking as frightened as Reki. They had nothing to fear though. "Kozue saved me," I said to them, my eyes meeting Reki's. "She was here for only a moment, but she saved me."

Reki's eyebrows rose, then slowly she became composed again. "I see. Well then, Kozue." She lifted her head to the sky and smiled. "Thank you for saving Nami."

By the time the day had ended, I was swimming like a fish. After another near-drowning accident, I had found myself holding onto a glorious ball of confidence. I used every last piece of it, risking myself as I dove and weaved through the cooling waters, Reki beside me the entire time.

Nothing more went wrong. Instead, everything went right. I was convinced that Kozue was the reason for this, and my eyes never left the bright skies as I held onto the life I now had.

"Nami, you're a professional!" Kana cried as I surfaced with Reki. I couldn't help but smile at her words. A professional? Not quiet, but maybe with time. I wasn't afraid of this lake anymore. Instead, I found it calming and peaceful.

Reki's hand slapped me in the shoulder lightly. "See? Look at the crowd you've gathered."

The girls lined the shore wrapped in their towels as they ate their wrapped snacks. However, they still had the time to cheer me on as I proved to them and myself that I could face my fears, even if I had received help from Kozue.

I would be forever grateful to her for saving me, and teaching me the very valuable lesson. I missed her more than words could express, but I still had these girls, my friends and also my family.

"Reki, one more lap of the lake?" I pleaded. "Then tomorrow again, and the day after!"

She watched me carefully as though thinking that I had swallowed too much water those days before. "You're suddenly keen. You enjoy it that much?"

I smiled to myself and watched the sky reflected on the surface of the water. "You have no idea."


	10. Family

**Chapter Ten**

**Family**

I was breaking through the glass barriers that held me back from living. I had defeated my fear of water, and I had accepted Kozue's flight. My family were precious to me, Reki and Nemu being the mother hens, and the girls being the sisters that I had always wanted. My nightmares were gone, and I felt full of life every day. I had more ends to tie, though, before I would be satisfied.

The streets were bustling with familiar faces. I had gotten to know almost everyone, and I greeted them in kind as they waved or shouted out to me. Some of them weren't happy with sharing Old Home with Haibane, but I knew to watch my step around them.

"It's a pity," Rakka had said as she explained the fact to me. "I remember how edgy I was when I arrived. They used to stare at me and whisper." She shivered as though remembering it disturbed her.

"It's their loss," Kana said with a shrug. "It's unfortunate that not everyone can get along, but their the ones who are missing out on some awesome friends!"

Rakka and I both rolled our eyes. We were used to Kana's boastfulness.

I headed across the cobbled ground to the clothes store that I had run into on my first day of waking to this world. I remembered how nervous I had made the man. He had wanted me to return to the house, but had let me go seeing my need to be alone. I hoped he hadn't received any trouble from Reki for allowing me to escape.

I stepped into the shop and found him at his desk, folding a pile of clothes. He looked up at me as the door chimed a small bell hanging in the corner. A small smile spread on his face. "I haven't seen you in a while."

I nodded sheepishly, searching quickly for any anger in his voice. There was none so I assumed he had gotten away with letting me run off to collapse outside. "How have things been?"

He was as approachable as he had been back then. "They've been fine. How are you enjoying life here?"

He spoke as though I had only just arrived here. So little he understood about the events that had unfolded. "Yeah, those girls are taking good care of me."

"I told you they would," he said, placing the last folded shirt on the pile. He stretched his arms out and spoke with a yawn. "So what can I do for you? Or did you just come to chat?"

I came closer to his desk and handed him a contract that Reki had found for me. I had already filled out my side, and turned it so he could cover the rest of the information. "I was wondering if you would allow me to work here."

His eyes lifted to mine, and for a moment he said nothing. I swallowed, thinking that perhaps I had misjudged his kindness towards me, but a small grin lit up his face. "Of course. I could use the extra hands." He signed it thickly at the bottom and wrote the acceptance in the remaining spaces.

Now there was one less thing to take care of, but I was in a hurry to complete the rest of the tasks. I thanked him again, bid him farewell, and disappeared out into the street again.

I knew enough about Reki to know that she didn't like many things apart from taking car of us, her family. All of her concentration and strength was poured into those efforts, but I had taken the time to discover little bit and pieces in the street markets that caught her eye.

I had caused too much trouble to expect compete forgiveness and trust, but Reki had done exactly that and still believed in me enough to let me out on my own like this. I owed her so much.

I stepped into the nearest market shop with a note of money in my hand. I had seen her eyes staring at this store everytime we passed. It was filled with small statues made from glass, and they all glittered like crystal as I stepped through the aisles.

"What would Reki like?" I asked myself, remembering the certain artistic statues that caught her attention the most. I spotted her examining a giant cat un the window once, and then another time she had run her fingers over the top of a jewelled lizard. My mind sifted through the memories, but a chime caught my attention and I turned to find the source of the noise.

A window was open at the end of the store, and hanging from the top sill was a number of wind chimes. One of them, though, the loudest of the group, had my eyes open wide.

The main piece of the wind chime was a small bird with coloured glass gems pressed into its wings. It's eyes were a glistening blue, and the wings had been coloured red. Hanging from a small ring beneath it's feet was a numbed of small round balls that were each a different colour. I pressed my fingers to the carved bird, finding it detailed and chiselled to perfection.

"This is it," I breathed to myself. "This is the perfect gift for her."

Having completed the two errands, I itched to return home and complete the last part of the day. As soon as I opened the door I was greeted by a number of children that Reki took care of with the house mother. She was rushing around, gathering them as they threw vegetables around the room. She looked up at me as I bustled through the door.

"How did it go?" she called out, referring to the new job.

I didn't trust my voice to make it over the screaming children, so I gave her the thumbs up and headed towards the stairs. As I climbed the first steps, a hand took my shoulder. I turned to find Reki.

"We need to talk," she said calmly, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that the house mother was not watching. "Come on, quick."

I rushed down the hall, keeping the gift bag that held the bird wind chime in my jacket. I opened my door and we both hurried in just as a child downstairs began to cry and sulk. I knew that the house mother would be searching for Reki soon, so I shut the door lightly but swiftly.

Reki leaned against my bedside table, taking out a cigarette now that she was away from the kids. "I just wanted to make sure your certain about working. You don't have to pick a job so early, you know."

I shook my head. "I'm sure. I really want to earn my stay here in Old Home, and besides, I like the man that works at the clothes store. He's really nice."

Reki shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then, but if there are any problems…"

"Than come to you, right?" I finished for her, grinning.

She rose an eyebrow, them sighed into her cigarette. "You really have grown so much, Nami. Not with age though, but with maturity, and personality. You're so much stronger now."

_Now is the perfect time, _I thought. I pulled the gift out from under my jacket and held it out to her. "Here, I brought this for you."

She stared at it in surprise. "Why?"

"Because I feel that I owe you an apology for causing so much trouble," I admitted quickly, feeling my cheeks going red with embarrassment. "All of the times I ran away and had you worried, and all of the times when I didn't listen to you. I should have realised how scared it would make you."

She had come closer to me and reached out. Her hand rested on my shoulder and she squeezed it lightly. "Nami, stop… You don't need to apologise. If it had been my friend, I would have run away to find her too."

I lifted my head. "Really?"

She nodded. "I was too harsh. I guess I was too over-protective, wanting to keep you safe from everything. I should be the one saying that I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "No, don't worry about it. Here." I pressed the wrapped gift into her hands, causing it to rattle and chime. "Open it up."

Reki kept her face composed as she tore the paper open along the top. The rest fell away from the chime, and her smile reflected the sparkling glass. "Nami, how did you know I liked things like this?"

"I observed," I said simply. "I wanted to get to know you better."

"You don't need to watch me," Reki said, holding onto the chime tightly. "Just talk to me. Even if I'm busy, I'll stop you any of you girls."

My heart soared at her words. She was more than a friend. She was like a mother that I had never had, and a big sister when I needed cheering up. She led me and held me up when I was drowning. I was so thankful to her that I threw myself in her arms.

"Reki, I won't ever make you worried again."

That night I encountered the last need for the day. We were celebrating three things: My swimming abilities, Kozue's life here in Old Home, and my new job at the clothes store. I had helped organise everything, and here I sat at the dinner table with my family.

Kana raised her glass to make a toast, always needing to be the first to speak. However, it was more of a boast than a toast. "I knew that Nami would choose that store! I knew it, I knew it!"

Reki rolled her eyes. "Kana, sit down before you hurt yourself."

I stifled a laugh behind my hand. No matter how outrageous Kana was, she would always be here for me. I remembered when she had come with me to the forest when Kozue had lost her temper with me, and I had seen a different girl in her.

"I think we should have a proper toast now" Hikari suggested as she lifted her glass from the table. She rose it high into the air and everyone copied.

"To Nami, who stayed strong through the hardest ordeals," Reki said with a smile.

"To Nami, and her new job as the clothing man's assistant," Kana cried out, having forgotten the man's name.

"To Nami," Rakka said next, her eyes glistening in the light above the table. "The girl who faced her fears without running away."

They all cheered and clanked their glasses together, then against mine until it rung in my hand.

"Everyone, thank you," I gasped out, finding my voice choked with tears. "I don't think I could have made it through without any of you."

"Nami…" Nemu said, reaching across the table to take my hand. "We'll always be here for you, no matter what. If you need us, just say so."

Kana, whom hadn't been able to get a word in all night, raised her hand in the air. "That's right! No matter how bad it is, I'll make you smile again!"

Without warning, all of the girls agreed in unison, all of them clapping and cheering. My hand was grasped by these girls, my family, and I felt the last cold icy clutches of doubt and distrust fall away, leaving me to face a new light that was so bright I fell into their embraces without fear.

"Everyone… I won't ever forget."


	11. The New Pod

**Chapter Eleven**

**The New Pod**

**Final**

I sat on the end of my bed, flipping through a novel that Nemu had recommended for me. It was a beautiful story of friendship between two girls that faced against the odds of the world together. It had me in tears for nearly every chapter, but the reminder of Kozue also warmed my heart.

I lead back on the soft mattress, lying the book beside me. I had achieved so much with these girls, and now everything was going right. I loved my job working alongside the man that owned the store. He was so kind that I wasn't afraid to make mistakes. With the money I continued to pay the girls back whenever I could because of all the help they offered me.

Kana had almost fainted when I had presented her with a new pair of wing covers as her had become lost in the house. I had made it myself and decorated it with fine golden lining around the spirals in the centre. "Really, Nami, this is too much!" she exclaimed, her smile spreading from ear to ear.

Kuu had been just as excited with her new hat that had also been created by my hands. It was of a similar design, but the ear covers had a thick layer of wool. "Nami, thank you!"

I had been praised all day, but that wasn't what I had been after. What I had wanted was to see their happiness. That was all it took to make me satisfied.

I wasn't afraid to swim anymore. The fear never returned. I was always so excited when we planned a trip down to the lake. I always felt protected with Reki and Kozue in case anything was wrong. That's right; I knew that Kozue was watching.

I knew that she was proud of me.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something that didn't quiet belong in my room. I turned onto my side lazily, expecting it to be a mouse or perhaps even a moth. It wasn't either of those things though, and my breath caught in my throat.

It was a pod.

I had never screamed out so loud. I called out the girl's names, then I cried them out again and again and again. Their feet battered against the wood above and around me as they rushed in all directions heading to my room.

I crouched before the small pod on the floor and smiled. It looked like an onion. I laughed, the joy of the soon-to-come birth the highlight of my voice.

"What is it, Nami?" Reki asked urgently as she practically knocked the door down. All of the girls rushed in, their feet a hazard for the little pod. Without thinking, I leapt on top of it to protect it, my hands acting as a shield.

Immediately, everyone stopped and stared down at me as though I had lost my mind.

"Nami, what are you doing?" Rakka asked, her eyebrows raised.

Reki bent at my side, her hand on my shoulder lightly. "Did something happen?" she asked.

"Look," I answered excitedly, finally feeling that the little pod would be safe. I lifted my hands away from it, the white onion shaped cocoon poking out of the tiles. Gasps erupted around me, and I could only nod in agreement.

Reki peered closely at it, a bright smile on her face. "It won't be long now. Only a few months." Her gaze lifted to me. "And it already has a protector."

"A… protector?" I echoed. I lifted my hands and stared at them. They were rimmed with dirt where I had covered the pod from harm. I had saved it.

"That's right," Reki said, straightening. "I think the two of you will be the best of friends, you know?"

I smiled. That sounded perfect.

The months passed quickly in a blur. I spend day and night watching the pod, measuring it's height, and cleaning the area around it. The more I worked to keep it happy and safe, the more it grew. Everyone watching in awe, cheering me on as I took the responsibility with pride.

Then the day finally came.

I threw open the door to my room with a small blanket folded in my arms. I had tied it around the pod that had now grew massive, but it had needed a clean desperately. I had used it to keep the pod heated and clean, but as I stepped onto my wet, slimy floor, I realised it would be no longer needed.

The pod had split, and in the centre of the fluid was a girl.

I took in a breath to yell out for Reki and the others, but I stopped myself as the girl gave a groan. She was waking up, and I didn't want to frighten her. I moved closer to her and knelt in the muck at her side. With trembling hands that I hoped were gentle enough, I lifted her into my lap.

She had dark black hair and a pale face. Her eyes that were open a crack were green, and she wore the faintest of smiles. It was all too familiar.

"Who… are you?" she gasped.

I was struck. "K-Kozue?"

The girl blinked, trying to clear the haze I knew well. She coughed, then settled. "Is that… my name?"

"Kozue…" It was her. She had been returned to me. She didn't remember who I was or who she was, but it didn't matter. I would start our friendship again and live it with all of our strength. Of this I was sure.

Slowly and carefully, I lifted her into my able arms. She was light and her shaking hands reached around to gasp at the back of my jacket. She leaned into me and closed her eyes as she slipped into sleep.

"I'm glad to have you back, Kozue," I whispered as I stepped out from my room. "Don't worry, I'll protect you, so don't be afraid."

Together we would face the fears.

_Author's Note – There you have it! A massively, huge, gigantic thankyou to Funnywordtummy for all of your reviewing. Needless to say I wouldn't have continued this fanfic if it wasn't for your support, so thankyou for showing me what I was capable of._

_ Yes, this is the end, but I am proud that I finished this fic without giving up (completely). I hope that this story was enjoyed, and I hope that it will stay in your memory, cause that's where the true legend of writing lies._

_ Thankyou, and look out for more Fanfiction in the near future!_

_ShatteredHeart98 _


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